Estonia’s center-right Reform party beat Prime Minister Jüri Ratas’ governing center-left Center party, securing 28.8 percent of the vote and 34 seats in Sunday’s general election.
Ratas’ party, which was the favorite going into the vote, won 23.1 percent and 26 of the 101 seats in Estonia’s parliament. The far-right nationalist Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (EKRE) came in third on 17.8 percent — more than doubling its 8.1 percent result in the previous election, according to Estonia’s electoral office. The Euroskeptic party will hold 19 seats, 12 more than it did prior to the election.
Only two other parties passed the 5 percent threshold necessary to secure seats in Estonia’s parliament: The conservative Pro Patria won 11.4 percent of the vote and 12 seats, while the Social Democratic Party secured 9.8 percent and 10 seats.
Reform leader Kaja Kallas, a 41-year-old lawyer and former member of European Parliament, is now the favorite to become Estonia’s prime minister, and if successful she would be the first woman to hold the role. “I have to admit I prepared two speeches,” Kallas told supporters overnight after her surprise win. “Now starts the real work to form the government and start to govern this country more intelligently.”
Whether Kallas becomes the new prime minister is still uncertain, however, as her party didn’t win enough votes to govern the country outright and will need to form a coalition to govern. President Kersti Kaljulaid will nominate in the next few days a candidate for PM who will start coalition talks.
Both Reform and the Center party ruled out governing with EKRE prior to the election.