An indirect election took place in Estonia on 30 and 31 August 2021 to elect the president of Estonia, who is the country's head of state. The Riigikogu — the Parliament of Estonia — elected Alar Karis to serve in the office and he was sworn in as the 6th president on 11 October 2021. The incumbent, Kersti Kaljulaid, was eligible to seek reelection to a second, and final, term but failed to gain the endorsement of at least 21 MPs, which is required in order for a candidate to register, as she was outspoken against some of the policies of the government, who thus denied her support.[1]
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101 members of the Riigikogu 68 votes needed to win | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The election, being one of an unopposed candidate (a first under the 1992 constitution[2]), caused an outcry as it was compared with those held under the Soviet occupation of the country. Described as "unethical", it reignited previous calls for a reform of the electoral system, including direct election.[3][4][5] Referencing the "turmoil that surrounded the presidential selection process" in his post election speech, Karis called for changes of the system to be examined by the Riigikogu, such as using an enlarged electoral college, facilitating the nomination of candidates or even using direct election.[6]
Process
By law, the president of Estonia is indirectly elected. The Riigikogu has the task of electing the president in the first instance. If no candidate receives the required supermajority of two-thirds (68 votes out of 101), the president is selected by an electoral college consisting of MPs and representatives of local (municipal) governments. If the electoral college fails to achieve a supermajority as well, the process is to return to the parliament yet again.[7]
The incumbent Kersti Kaljulaid served one term, and was eligible to be elected to a second consecutive term in office, but did not receive enough parliamentary nominations in order to stand as a candidate. In June 2021, Jüri Ratas announced a special session of the Riigikogu on 30 August, in order to begin the process of electing the president. Members of parliament were allowed to begin nominating candidates on 26 August.[8]
Candidates
Individuals must be nominated by one-fifth of the members of Riigikogu (21 MPs) in order to officially stand as candidates.[9] Members of the Riigikogu may begin officially nominating candidates for the election on 26 August, while the nominations were publicly revealed on 29 August.[10]
Nominated
The following individual received the mandated amount of nominations from at least 21 MPs.
| Candidate |
|---|
.jpg) Alar Karis Centre Party and Reform Party Director of the Estonian National Museum (2018–present)[11][12] |
Not nominated
The following individuals declared their intentions to stand as candidates in the election, but were not nominated by 21 MPs in order to become candidates.
- Kersti Kaljulaid, incumbent president of Estonia (since 2016)[13]
- Kaimar Karu, Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology (2019–20)[14]
- Indrek Laul, director of the Estonia Piano Factory[15][16]
- Henn Põlluaas, president of the Riigikogu (2019–21)[17]
- Tarmo Soomere, president of Estonian Academy of Sciences (since 2014)[18][19]
Declined
The following individuals were rumored to run by the media, but ultimately did not declare candidacies.
- Jaak Aaviksoo, Minister of Defence (2007–2011); Minister of Education and Research (2011–2014)[20]
- Andrus Ansip, former Prime Minister of Estonia (2005–2014); European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society (2014–2019)[21]
- Marina Kaljurand, Minister of Foreign Affairs (2015–2016); 2016 presidential candidate; MEP for Estonia (2019–present)[21]
- Jüri Luik, Minister of Defence (1993–1994; 1999–2001; 2017–2021); Minister of Foreign Affairs (1994–1995)[20]
- Ülle Madise, Chancellor of Justice (since 2015)[20]
- Jüri Ratas, former Prime Minister of Estonia (2016–2021); president of the Riigikogu (since 2021)[18][22]
Opinion polls
Although the president is not elected by popular vote, there has been public opinion polling in order to study the candidates' popularity.
| Polling firm | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Ansip Reform | Helme EKRE | Kaljulaid Independent | Kaljurand SDE | Madise Independent | Ratas Kesk | Soomere Independent | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kantar Emor | 11–17 August 2021 | 1,152 | – | – | 24% | 13% | – | – | – | 63%[a] |
| Turu-uuringute AS | 15–21 April 2021 | – | 5% | 6% | 18% | 16% | – | 15% | 8% | – |
| Kantar Emor | 8–14 April 2021 | 1,232 | – | 10% | 21% | – | 9% | 23% | 11% | – |
Results
| Candidate | Votes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round | Second round | |||||
| Alar Karis | 63 |  72 | ||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 16 | 8 | ||||
| Abstentions | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Not present | 21 | 21 | ||||
| Electorate | 101 | 101 | ||||
| Required supermajority | 68 | 68 | ||||
| Source:[23][24] | ||||||