Estonia wants to bar Russian, Belarusian citizens from voting in local elections

Estonia seeks to narrow voting eligibility in local elections to exclude Russian and Belarusian citizens in order to counter Russian influence, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal told state broadcaster ERR on Nov. 4.

"Today, we agreed within the coalition council that we recommend changing the constitution as soon as possible so that citizens of aggressor countries are no longer the decision-makers in local elections," Michal told ERR.

The Baltic country, with a population of 1.3 million, has an ethnic Russian minority of around 296,000, of which an estimated 80,000 hold Russian citizenship. Estonia is also home to 3,000 Belarusian citizens.

Estonia is heading toward local elections in October 2025, with residents with foreign citizenship permitted to participate. The proposed changes would limit this right to citizens of NATO, EU, and several other countries, with Russia and Belarus excluded.

The amendment has to pass the parliament with the support of a constitutional majority, receive a presidential signature, and likely get approval from a court as legal challenges are expected to take place.

Estonia has been among Kyiv's staunchest supporters since the full-scale invasion began in 2022, providing humanitarian, developmental, and military assistance.

Between 2022 and 2024, Estonia has devoted around 520 million euros ($575 million) in support to Ukraine. This represents 1.4% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), one of the highest percentages of all Kyiv's partners.