By Estonia is holding parliamentary elections, in which no party is expected to win a majority of seats.
Published March 2nd 2003 in VOA News
Estonia is holding parliamentary elections, in which no party is expected to win a majority of seats.
Sunday's vote is Estonia's fourth general election since it emerged from Soviet rule more than a decade ago.
The polls are seen as reflecting the struggle between those prospering in the new, independent Estonia and those who are being left behind.
Estonian voters are choosing from more than 900 candidates for 101 seats in the country's single-house legislature. Central Election Commission officials say that, by noon, the voter turnout was 29 percent.
All six parties fielding candidates have pledged to continue economic reforms in Estonia and make progress toward NATO and European Union membership, expected next year.
The Center Party of former Prime Minister Edgar Savisaar has campaigned as the voice of those struggling to make ends meet in a free-market economy.
This strategy has propelled his party to the top of the polls.
The fiscally-conservative Reform Party of Prime Minister Siim Kallas is running a close second. The party is currently part of a coalition government with the Center Party.
Res Publica, a right-wing newcomer that scored spectacular gains during recent local elections with promises to root out corruption, has added to the uncertainty.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe decided not to send observers to monitor the poll, saying it was convinced the election would be free and fair.
Polls close at 8:00 p.m. local time (1800 UTC). The election commission is due to release preliminary results shortly after.
Election Day '09 was a roller-coaster for election reformers. Instant runoff voting had a great night in Minnesota, where St. Paul voters chose to implement IRV for its city elections, and Minneapolis voters used IRV for the first time—with local media touting it as a big success. As the Star-Tribune noted in endorsing IRV for St. Paul, Tuesday’s elections give the Twin Cities a chance to show the whole state of Minnesota the benefits of adopting IRV. There were disappointments in Lowell and Pierce County too, but high-profile multi-candidate races in New Jersey and New York keep policymakers focused on ways to reform elections; the Baltimore Sun and Miami Herald were among many newspapers publishing commentary from FairVote board member and former presidential candidate John Anderson on how IRV can mitigate the problems of plurality elections.