Estonia’s The coalition government announced plans to amend the constitution on Monday (November 4th). Russian And Belarusian Citizens are not allowed to vote in next year’s municipal elections. The move aims to protect against possible interference from Moscow and Minsk.

The decision could affect more than 80,000 Russian citizens who already have residence permits in Estonia, a Baltic nation of 1.3 million people that declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 and has a significant Russian-speaking community.

“We agreed in the coalition council to recommend to our parliamentary groups that they urgently change the constitution so that citizens of the aggressor states no longer have a say in local elections,” Prime Minister Kristen Michal told state broadcaster ERR.

Currently, permanent residents of Estonia have the constitutional right to vote in local elections in their locality.

However, since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, various political parties have supported excluding Russians, Belarusians, and stateless individuals from voting due to concerns about potential foreign influence.

Helir-Valdor Seeder, head of the Isamaa (Homeland) parliamentary group, stated that the coalition hopes to make the changes quickly and ensure that citizens of “aggressor states” and stateless persons cannot vote in municipal elections scheduled for October 2024.

The draft amendment could be ready for consideration by Thursday.

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