At Stake in this Election: 

• All 101 seats of the Estonian Parliament 

Government Structure:  

• Chief of State: President Alar KARIS (since 11 October 2021) 

• Head of Government: Prime Minister Kaja KALLAS (since 26 January 2021) 

• Parliament: Unicameral legislature of 101 seats 

Electoral System:  

• The President is indirectly elected by Parliament in up to four rounds of voting.  The President may serve up to two 5-year terms.  

• The fourth round of voting only occurs if no candidate secures a two-thirds majority by the third round; in that case members of Parliament and local councils choose between the top two candidates from the third round.  

• The Prime Minister is nominated by the president and confirmed by the parliament. 

• Members of parliament are directly elected in multi-seat constituencies via open-list proportional representation vote. Members serve 4-year terms. 

Last Election: 

In the 2019 parliamentary election, the Estonian Reform Party won 34 seats but did not secure a majority. The Estonian Centre Party won 26 seats, followed by the Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (19), the Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica (12), and the Social-Democratic Party (10). Voter turnout was 63%. 

Key Deadlines: 

• Candidate filing deadline: 19 January 2023 

• Voter registration deadline: 3 February 2023 

• Voter registration occurs automatically for all Estonian citizens who are at least 18 years old and have a registered address within Estonia. The list of registered voters is finalized thirty days before the election. 

Main Candidates in this Election:  

• Estonian Reform Party / Eesti Reformierakond  

• Leader: Kaja KALLAS 

• Seats won in last election: 34/101 

• Estonian Centre Party / Eesti Keskerakond  

• Leader: Jüri RATAS 

• Seats won in last election: 26/101 

• Conservative People’s Party of Estonia / Eesti Konservatiivne Rahvaerakond (EKRE) 

• Leader: Mart HELME 

• Seats won in last election: 19/101 

• Social Democratic Party / Sotsiaaldemokraatlik Erakond  

• Leader: Lauri LÄÄNEMETS 

• Seats won in last election: 10/101 

• Rightwing Party / Erakon Parempoolsed 

• Leader: Lavly PERLING 

• Seats won in the last election: 0/101 

• Estonian Greens / Erakond Eestimaa Rohelised 

• Leader: Johanna Maria TÕUGU 

• Seats won in last election: 0/101 

• Isamaa / ISAMAA Erakond  

• Leader: Helir-Valdor SEEDER 

• Seats won in last election: 12/101 (formerly known as Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica)

• Estonia 200 / Erakon Eesti 200  

• Leader: Lauri HUSSAR 

• Seats won in last election: 0/101 

• Estonian United Left Party / Eestimaa Ühendatud Vasakpartei 

• Leader: Igor ROSENFELD 

• Seats won in last election: 0/101 

Population and Registered Voters: 

• Population: 1,202,762 (2023 est.) 

• Registered Voters: 966,129 (2023 est.) 

Gender Data: 

• Female Population: 641,018 (2022 est.) 

• CEDAW Status: Ratified by accession (21 Oct 1991)  

• Gender Quota:  No 

• Female Candidates in this election: Yes 

• Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 29 out of 101 (28.7%) in Parliament 

• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 0.890, Very High (2021 est.) 

• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: 14%, Very low (2019 est.) 

Disability Data: 

• CRPD Status: Signed 25 Sept 2007, Ratified 30 May 2012 

• Projected population with a disability: 180,414 (2023 est.) 

IFES Resources: 

• Does IFES have a presence in Estonia: No 

• Election Access: Yes 

• Election Judgements: Yes; 5 judgements & 12 resources