The Constitutional Commission will hold an open discussion on the voting rights of Russian citizens

2024-10-22 06:04:00
The open meeting will start at 14:00. Photo: Natalia Starostina

Today, the Constitutional Commission of the Riigikogu will hold an open meeting, during which it will discuss with experts the possibility of depriving citizens of Russia and Belarus, as well as stateless persons, of the right to vote in local elections. The meeting will be conducted broadcast live.

According to the chairman of the constitutional commission, Hendrik Johannes Terras, the commission wants to discuss how, in light of Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine and the change in the security situation, changes can be made to the circle of people who can with them to vote in local government elections. assembly. “At an open meeting, we will discuss what opportunities there are to remove the right to vote from citizens of third countries, mainly the aggressive states in Russia and Belarus, as well as stateless people, and whether this requires amendments to the Constitution, ” he said. said.

According to the current law, citizens of Estonia and the European Union, as well as foreigners residing in Estonia on the basis of a long-term residence permit or permanent right of residence, who have reached the age of 16 on the day of the election, and whose residence is registered, participate in elections held by local governments on the Estonian population register. The next local government assembly elections will take place on 19 October 2025.

The Deputy Counselor for the Chancellor of Justice and the Director of the Office are invited to the meeting Olary Koppel and Senior Advisor to the Law Enforcement Division Hello OlleHead of the Public Law Service of the Ministry of Justice Illimar Pärnamyagi and a consultant Mariko Yeorg-Yurchenkoand also a consultant to the Ministry of Internal Affairs Kristen Kanarik.

The public meeting will start at 14:00 in meeting room L333. You can watch the live broadcast at Riigikogu home page. The recording will be available later on Riigikogu Youtube channel.

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