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Estonian parliamentary election, 1992

20 September 1992
101 seats in the Riigikogu 51 seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Mart Laar Riivo Sinijärv Edgar Savisaar Party Bloc "Fatherland" Bloc "Safe Home" Bloc "Popular Front" Last election — — — Seats won 29 17 15 Seat change +29 +17 +15 Popular vote 100,828 62,329 56,124 Percentage 22.0% 13.6% 12.2%
Prime Minister of the Interim Government before election Tiit Vähi Elected Prime Minister Mart Laar Bloc "Fatherland"

Parliamentary elections were held in Estonia on 20 September 1992, the first after regaining independence from the Soviet Union. They were held in order to elect the first Riigikogu since Soviet occupation. However, these were not the first elections held by Estonia since occupation-- between 1988 and 1993 nine elections were held as Soviet influence decreased in the Baltic region. In 1991, still under Soviet control, Estonia held a critical election to re-establish Estonia as an independent country. The nation voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence, with opposition coming only from the Russian-speaking minority within Estonia. Once they regained independence after a tense confrontation with Soviet forces, Estonia held their first parliamentary election. The winners, a five-party alliance led by Mart Laar, formed the cabinet together with national-conservative Estonian National Independence Party and centrist Moderates alliance. Turnout for the election was much lower than in recent years-- only 68% of eligible voters chose to participate, compared to 87% in the 1989 USSR Congress of People's Deputies elections.

Because of Estonia's position as a post-communist country, many academics have studied the 1992 election and its importance as the Baltic region transitioned to democracy.

The parliamentary election was accompanied by the presidential election. In order to be elected, the candidate must have won over 50% of the votes. None of the candidates did, so the Riigikogu elected by the people held their own vote, electing Lennart-Georg Meri as the President of Estonia, a largely ceremonial role, as the President holds no executive power.

Results

Alliance	Parties	Votes	%	Seats
Bloc "Fatherland"	Christian Democratic Party Conservative People's Party Christian Democratic Union Republican Coalition Party Liberal Democrat Party	100,828	22.0	29
Safe Home	Coalition Party Country People's Union	62,329	13.6	17
Popular Front	Centre Party Popular Front Association of Estonian Nationalities Union of Estonian Women	56,124	12.2	15
Moderates	Social Democratic Party Country Centre Party	44,577	9.7	12
Estonian National Independence Party		40,260	8.8	10
Independent Royalist Party		32,638	7.1	8
Estonian Citizen	Party of the Estonian Republic Society of Healthy Lifestyle of Noarootsi	31,553	6.9	8
Estonian Union of Pensioners		17,011	3.7	0
Farmers' Assembly		13,356	2.9	0
Greens	Party of Estonian Greens Estonian Green Movement European Youth Forest Action Green Maardu Association Green Regiment	12,009	2.6	1
Estonian Entrepreneurs' Party		10,946	2.4	1
Left Option	Democratic Labour Party	7,374	1.6	0
National Party of the Illegally Repressed		4,263	0.9	0
Handicapped Union		2,262	0.5	0
Mercy		1,852	0.4	0
The Democrats		744	0.2	0
Natural Law Party		368	0.1	0
Independents		19,753	4.3	0
Invalid/blank votes		9,381	–	–
Total		467,628	100	101
Registered voters/turnout		689,241	67.8	–
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

88 of the seats were won by men, while 13 were won by women.

Political Parties

Parties like the Popular Front of Estonia and the Estonian National Independence Party had achieved great success during the Singing Revolution and attempted to capitalize on this success during the election. These well-established parties fared poorly, as they were unable to adapt to the changing Estonian society and appeared conservative compared to new parties, like the Estonian Citizen and "Fatherland" (Pro Patria Union). Following this election, the Popular Front of Estonia would dissolve in the new Estonia.

The Independent Royalist Party of Estonia surprisingly gained 8 seats in the new parliament, an impressive feat considering the "frivolous" nature of the party. A satirical party that campaigned under the intention to establish Estonia as a monarchy, they spent all of one kroon on the election and were considered wildly successful.

Issues

Due to the Estonian government's inexperience with the Multi-party system electoral model, multiple issues were recorded throughout the election. Numerous people voted in a booth at the same time while other voters failed to keep their votes secret, causing inconsistencies. Officials also failed to standardize in voting materials and ballot-counting. The existence of a preliminary two-week voting period also led to concerns about ballot security among officials.

The most difficult aspect of the election was the matter of citizenship and who was eligible to vote. In order to be considered a citizen, one must prove that they, their parents, or their grandparents were citizens of the pre-war republic. This was extremely difficult, as many families had no documentation of their citizenship. Non-citizens had to have lived in Estonia for two years, passed a test, and waited another year in order to be considered for citizenship. This made voting nearly impossible for some individuals. Outside the capital, officials determined who or who was not a citizen in a process that took 10-15 minutes, but in Tallinn, the process was more extensive as the necessary officials were not near the voting booths. This led to embarrassment on behalf of the officials and frustration by the voters, many of whom never casted their vote because of the hassle of proving citizenship.

These booths in Tallinn were further overwhelmed and strained by late registrants and the volume of participants but continued operating. Because of these complications, about 1.5% of ballots were considered invalid.

Despite these issues, the election was conducted smoothly and cooperatively. There were concerns about the Russian minority within Estonia as tensions were high due to new definitions of citizenship, but confrontation was avoided. Ambassadors representing the Russian minority gave statements and held interviews to assure the public that they were open to communication and wished to arrive at a mutually beneficial solution.

External links

• Election results Estonian Electoral Commission

1992 Category:1992 elections in Europe Category:1992 in Estonia