29. september 2026

Lääneranna vald tahab küsida rahvalt Läänemaaga liitumisest

Lääneranna municipality wants to ask people about merging with Lääne county

Lääneranna vald küsis elt, kas nad saavad teha e 2029. aasta valimistega samal ajal. Küsimus oleks: "Kas tahad, et Lääneranna vald kuuluks Lääne maakonda?". Praegu kuulub Lääneranna vald Pärnu maakonda.

Valimisteenistus ütles, et seadus lubab t valimistega samal ajal. Kuid valimised ja küsitlus on kaks erinevat asja. Seega peab olema kindel, et inimesed aru saavad, mis on valimine ja mis on küsitlus. Samuti peavad ka korraldajad teadma, mida nad teevad.

Valimisteenistus ütles ka, et kui küsitluse korraldajad on ka valimiste korraldajad, peavad nad mõlemat tööd hästi tegema. Küsitlus ei tohi valimisi segada. Valimisteenistus soovitas vallas mõelda, kas nad saavad korraldada mõlemad asjad korraga.

Valimisteenistus ütles veel, et küsitluse jaoks ei saa kasutada valimiste süsteeme ja vahendeid. Küsitluse kulu ei saa arvutada valimiste kuluga kokku.

Küsimus tuli vallavolikokku e kaudu. Rahvaalgatus.ee keskkonnas tehti algatus "Lääneranna vald Lääne maakonda". Selle eesmärk on teada saada, kas rahvas tahab kuuluda Lääne maakonda. Algatuse autor ütles, et Lääneranna vallal on Läänemaaga. Ta ütles ka, et paljud Läänemaa inimesena.

Algatusel koguti 74 allkirja, aga ainult 41 neist olid õiged. Vaja oli vähemalt 44 allkirja, et algatus volikokku jõuaks. Kuigi allkirju jäi veidi puudu, arutas volikogu siiski küsitluse korraldamist. Nad otsustasid, et kui küsitlus tehakse, siis võiks see olla valimistega samal ajal.

Vallavanem ütles, et küsitlusega pole kiiret. Ta ütles ka, et Läänemaaga liituda, teised ei taha. Enamus inimesi arvab, et praegu on olulisemad teemad. Kuid valimiste ajal saab seda teemat arutada.

Vallavanem ütles veel, et küsitlus maksaks umbes 10 000 eurot. Küsitluse tulemus pole volikogule kohustuslik. Kuid kui volikogu otsustab Läänemaaga liituda, saadetakse otsus .

Lääneranna vald nelja valla ühinemisel. Kaks neist olid Pärnumaa, kaks Läänemaa osad. Pärast ühinemist läks vald Pärnumaale. Lääneranna vald on üks . Seal on üks linn, üks alevik ja 150 küla.

Lääneranna municipality asked the electoral service whether they can conduct a referendum simultaneously with the 2029 elections. The question would be: "Do you want Lääneranna municipality to belong to Lääne county?" Currently, Lääneranna municipality belongs to Pärnu county.

The electoral service stated that the law allows holding a referendum concurrently with elections. However, elections and a referendum are two different things. Therefore, it must be ensured that people understand what voting is and what a referendum is. The organizers must also know what they are doing.

The electoral service also noted that if referendum organizers are also election organizers, they must perform both tasks well. The referendum must not interfere with elections. The electoral service advised the municipality to consider whether they can organize both events simultaneously.

The electoral service further stated that election systems and resources cannot be used for the referendum. The costs of the referendum cannot be combined with election expenses.

The question reached the municipal council through a public initiative. An initiative titled "Lääneranna municipality to Lääne county" was created on the Rahvaalgatus.ee platform. Its purpose is to find out whether people want to belong to Lääne county. The author of the initiative said that Lääneranna municipality has historical ties with Lääne county. They also mentioned that many residents identify as people of Lääne county.

The initiative collected 74 signatures, but only 41 of them were valid. At least 44 signatures were needed for the initiative to reach the council. Although slightly short of signatures, the council still discussed organizing the referendum. They decided that if a referendum is held, it could be conducted simultaneously with elections.

The municipality mayor said there is no hurry with the referendum. They also noted that some people want to merge with Lääne county, while others don't. Most residents think there are currently more important topics. However, the issue can be discussed during the election period.

The mayor added that the referendum would cost about €10,000. The referendum result is not binding for the council. But if the council decides to merge with Lääne county, the decision will be sent to the government.

Lääneranna municipality was formed in 2017 through the merger of four municipalities. Two of them were parts of Pärnu county, two belonged to Lääne county. After the merger, the municipality became part of Pärnu county. Lääneranna is one of Estonia's largest municipalities, comprising one town, one small town, and 150 villages.