World News | PM Kaja Kallas’ Reform Party set to win Estonian vote

TALLINN, March 6 (AP) – Estonian voters went to the polls Sunday in parliamentary elections, with preliminary results suggesting the center-right Reform Party led by Prime Minister Kaja Karas, one of Europe’s most outspoken supporters of Ukraine, is gaining ground. Landslide victory.

Kallas faces a challenge from the far-right populist EKRE party, which seeks to limit the Baltic state’s exposure to the Ukraine crisis and blames the current government for Estonia’s high inflation.

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There are nine political parties among all fielded candidates for Estonia’s 101-seat parliament, or Riigikogu. More than 900,000 people are eligible to vote in the general election, with nearly half voting early.

After counting about 90 percent of the vote, the Reform Party led with 31.9 percent, followed by the EKRE with 15.2 percent and the Center Party, traditionally backed by Estonia’s large Russian minority, with 14.5 percent.

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Preliminary results suggest that six parties have surpassed the 5 percent support threshold needed to enter parliament, including newcomer liberal centrist party Eesti 200.

Overall turnout was 63.7 percent by the time polls closed at 8pm (1800GMT), on par with the 2019 general election, according to preliminary information. Preliminary election results are expected to be announced early Monday.

National security and socioeconomic concerns following the invasion of Ukraine by neighboring Russia, especially the rising cost of living, were major campaign themes.

Callas, 45, becomes prime minister in 2021 and has become one of Europe’s most outspoken supporters of Ukraine during the year-long war. She is seeking re-election, boosted by her international calls for sanctions against Moscow.

Estonia, a Baltic state of 1.3 million (1.3 million) bordering Russia to the east, seceded from the Soviet Union in 1991 and took a clearly western route, joining NATO and the European Union.

There are representatives of five political parties in the outgoing parliament. Callas’ party leads the current coalition government with the smaller conservative Fatherland Party and the Social Democrats.

Her centre-right Reform Party has been a key player in Estonian politics since the mid-90s, serving consecutively as prime minister from 2005 to 2016 and regaining it in 2021.

Opinion polls suggest Callas’ party is likely to win the most votes in Sunday’s election. Ekre party leader Martin Helm, the prime minister’s main challenger, blames Karas for contributing to the country’s 18.6 percent inflation, one of the highest in the EU, and accuses her of undermining Estonia’s defenses by arming Ukraine .

“We never questioned our support for Ukraine. We never questioned Estonia’s membership in NATO,” Helm said in an interview with The Associated Press. “That’s just crazy talk. But we’ve been very critical of the government for not assessing Estonia and the risk to Estonia’s security and defense.”

“We’ve basically given all the heavy weapons to Ukraine, and there will be replacements in two or three years. Basically, it’s a provocation,” he said.

The outspoken and polarizing EKRE entered the Estonian political mainstream in the 2019 general election, when it became the third-largest party with nearly 18 percent of the vote. The Eurosceptic party was co-founded by Martin Helme’s father, Mart Helme, and was part of the Center Party-led government in 2019-21.

Karas believes it is in her national interest to help Kiev. The all-out invasion of Ukraine has raised concerns in Tallinn that a Russian victory could encourage Moscow to shift its attention to other countries it controlled during the Soviet era, including the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

She said Estonia’s defenses remained strong thanks to the U.S. and other NATO allies providing Ukraine and Estonia with top-notch weapons such as the HIMARS rocket system. (Associated Press)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the body of content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)