Tallinn Mayor and Deputy Chairman of the Social Democratic Party Jevgeni Ossinovski said he did not support the decision of his party's board. The decision was to take away the right to vote in local elections from Russian and Belarusian citizens but leave this right for individuals with undefined citizenship.
Ossinovski said there was no vote in the board. However, the majority opinion was different from his. He said: "I did not support this decision." He added that this decision could weaken Estonian society and bring security risks.
Ossinovski said that some Social Democrats changed their minds. The majority believed it was better to go with the flow. He said that in politics, it is important to be trustworthy. If it is said that something will be done, it must be done. He added that politicians who frequently change their positions get a bad reputation.
Ossinovski said that in the summer, the Prime Minister changed in Estonia. Former Prime Minister Kaja Kallas believed that taking away voting rights was not a good idea. The new Prime Minister Kristen Michal does not care about it as much. Therefore, the Social Democrats were left alone to defend this position. Later, they abandoned their position.
Ossinovski wrote on social media that in spring, this topic was discussed honestly. At that time, the party was unanimous that the constitution should not be changed.
Ossinovski said that because of this decision, some party members are certainly disappointed. He added that this topic is very polarizing. Some left the party because they wanted to take away voting rights. Others left because they did not want to do so. Ossinovski said he did not think about leaving the party.
Ossinovski said that Isamaa drew society's attention to voting rights. In his opinion, this was an insignificant problem. The media focused more on the politicians' dispute than on the security risk. Ossinovski believed that it should have been explained to people more calmly what was really happening.