After the constitutional amendment, many people in Estonia can no longer vote in local elections. A total of 71,827 people are affected. The majority of them live in Harju County – 35,540 people.
The majority of people in Harju County who lost the right to vote live in Tallinn – 29,443 people. Before the law change, 352,658 people in Tallinn could vote in local government elections. Now, 323,215 people can do so.
The Lasnamäe district lost the most voting rights. There are 13,687 fewer voters there. Next is the Põhja-Tallinn district, where there are 4,348 fewer eligible voters.
In Ida-Viru County, almost as many people lost the right to vote as in Tallinn – 29,982. In the previous local elections, 105,051 people could vote in this region. Now, 75,069 people can do so. This is almost a third fewer than before.
In Ida-Viru County, the city of Narva lost the most voting rights. Previously, 42,743 people could vote in Narva. Now, 27,240 people can do so. 15,503 people lost the right to vote.
Arne Koitmäe, the head of the Estonian Electoral Service, said that the constitutional amendment will affect the elections. In the Lasnamäe district, the number of mandates will decrease by two. In the Kesklinn and Nõmme districts, the number of mandates will increase by one. The number of members in the Tallinn City Council will remain the same – 79.
The Riigikogu adopted the constitutional amendment in the spring. As a result, citizens of third countries lost the right to vote in local elections. Now, only Estonian citizens, citizens of EU member states, and stateless persons can participate in elections.