2011 Estonian parliamentary election

A parliamentary election was held in Estonia on 6 March 2011, with e-voting between 24 February and 2 March 2011. The newly elected 101 members of the 12th Riigikogu assembled at Toompea Castle in Tallinn within ten days of the election. The incumbent government of the Reform Party and IRL continued in office until 2014 when Prime Minister Andrus Ansip resigned, ending his tenure as the longest-serving Prime Minister in contemporary Estonian history. He was replaced by Taavi Rõivas who formed a new coalition government with SDE. The Riigikogu elected after this election was the least fragmented in Estonian history, featuring only four parties.

2011 Estonian parliamentary election

← 2007 6 March 2011 2015 →

101 seats in the Riigikogu
51 seats needed for a majority
Turnout63.53%
  First party Second party
 
Leader Andrus Ansip Edgar Savisaar
Party Reform Centre
Last election 31 seats 29 seats
Seats won 33 26
Seat change Increase2 Decrease3
Popular vote 164,255 134,124
Percentage 28.56% 23.32%
Swing Increase0.76pp Decrease2.78pp

  Third party Fourth party
 
Leader Mart Laar Sven Mikser
Party IRL SDE
Last election 19 seats 10 seats
Seats won 23 19
Seat change Increase4 Increase9
Popular vote 118,023 98,307
Percentage 20.52% 17.09%
Swing Increase2.62pp Increase6.46pp

Results by electoral district

Prime Minister before election

Andrus Ansip
Reform

Prime Minister after election

Andrus Ansip
Reform

The election was marked by the highest number of running independents (32) since 1992. Several independent candidates were members of the Estonian Patriotic Movement and many of them would later become known faces in the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE), including future leaders Mart Helme and Martin Helme.[1]

Electoral system

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The 101 members of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) were elected using a form of proportional representation for a four-year term. The seats were allocated using a modified D'Hondt method. The country is divided into twelve multi-mandate electoral districts. There is a nationwide threshold of 5% for party lists, but if the number of votes cast for a candidate exceeds or equals the simple quota (which shall be obtained by dividing the number of valid votes cast in the electoral district by the number of mandates in the district) the candidate is elected.

Seats by electoral district

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The district number Electoral District Seats
1 Haabersti, Põhja-Tallinn and Kristiine districts in Tallinn 9
2 Kesklinn, Lasnamäe and Pirita districts in Tallinn 11
3 Mustamäe and Nõmme districts in Tallinn 8
4 Harjumaa (without Tallinn) and Raplamaa counties 14
5 Hiiumaa, Läänemaa and Saaremaa counties 6
6 Lääne-Virumaa county 5
7 Ida-Virumaa county 8
8 Järvamaa and Viljandimaa counties 8
9 Jõgevamaa and Tartumaa counties (without Tartu) 7
10 Tartu city 8
11 Võrumaa, Valgamaa and Põlvamaa counties 9
12 Pärnumaa county 8

Opinion polls

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Pre-election polls put the Reform Party, led by Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, ahead of its main rival, the opposition Centre Party. The former is right of centre, the latter is considered populist, slightly to the left on economic matters. Both parties are members of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party. Reform was slightly more socially liberal in comparison to Centre, while SDE was the most liberal out of the parties. IRL, meanwhile, was socially conservative, together with Centre. However, most parties had ruled out cooperation with Centre after its leader's controversial comments on regarding the Bronze Night riots and history of scandals.

Date Polling firm Ref Kesk IRL SDE Greens ERL Others Lead Ansip's cabinet – Opposition
6 Mar 11 Election Results 28.6 23.3 20.5 17.1 3.8 2.1 4.6 5.3 49.1
-
50.9
25 Feb 11 TNS Emor 28 25 21 16 4 2 3 49 - 47
Jan 11 Turu-Uuringute 25 19 12 9 2 2 9 6 37 - 41
Jan 11 TNS Emor 36 23 16 14 4 2 13 52 - 43
Dec 10 TNS Emor 36 23 15 13 5 4 13 51 - 45
Nov 10 TNS Emor 43 23 15 11 3 2 20 58 - 39

Contesting parties

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The Estonian National Electoral Committee announced that nine political parties and 32 individual candidates registered to take part in the 2011 parliamentary election. Their registration numbers and order were determined by a draw lot.

# Name Ideology Political position Leader Total candidates 2007 result
Votes (%) Seats
1
Greens Green politics Centre-left Aleksei Lotman 122 7.1%
6 / 101
2
IRL Liberal conservatism Centre-right Mart Laar 125 17.9%
19 / 101
3
Social Democratic Party Social democracy Centre-left Sven Mikser 125 10.6%
10 / 101
4
Reform Party Classical liberalism Centre-right Andrus Ansip 125 27.8%
31 / 101
5
Centre Party Plurinationalism Centre-left Edgar Savisaar 125 26.1%
29 / 101
6
Russian Party Russian minority interests Syncretic Stanislav Tšerepanov 16 0.2%
0 / 101
7
Independence Party Estonian nationalism Far-right Vello Leito 16 0.2%
0 / 101
8
People's Union[a] Agrarianism Centre to centre-left Andrus Blok 88 7.1%
6 / 101
9
Christian Democrats Christian democracy Centre-right Peeter Võsu 15 1.7%
0 / 101
Individual candidates 32 did not exist

Conduct

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The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe observed this election and issued a report with a number of recommendations.[3]

Results

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PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Estonian Reform Party164,25528.5633+2
Estonian Centre Party134,12423.3226–3
Pro Patria and Res Publica Union118,02320.5223+4
Social Democratic Party98,30717.0919+9
Estonian Greens21,8243.790–6
People's Union of Estonia12,1842.120–6
Russian Party in Estonia5,0290.8700
Party of Estonian Christian Democrats2,9340.5100
Estonian Independence Party2,5710.4500
Independents15,8822.7600
Total575,133100.001010
Valid votes575,13399.12
Invalid/blank votes5,1310.88
Total votes580,264100.00
Registered voters/turnout913,34663.53
Source: VVK

Notes

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  1. ^ Members of the Estonian United Left Party ran on the list of the People's Union.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "Delfi: Telestuudiosse kogunes 28 üksikkandidaati". Archived from the original on 2011-03-11. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
  2. ^ "Kommunistid kandideerivad riigikokku Rahvaliidu nimekirjas". Eesti (in Estonian). 2011-01-10. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
  3. ^ OSCE (2011-05-16). "OSCE/ODIHR Election Assessment Mission Report - ESTONIA PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS 6 March 2011". Retrieved 2011-05-18.
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