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25-581: According to the statutes of party, the party congress elects the Party Chairman and Executive board as well as nominates a consultative Central Council representing all regional organizations. Local policies are developed by local organizations, while central bodies formulate national policies. EVP lost representatives in parliament on the 2003 elections when they got 2,059 votes (0.4%). In 2007 election , it fell further to 0.1% and again got no seats. The party has been chaired by: On 28 June 2008,

50-586: A referendum approved the formation of a National Assembly to draft a replacement document. This Constitution, which came into force on 1 January 1938, created a bicameral National Assembly, consisting of the Chamber of Deputies and the National Council. The National Council, which was to review and ratify legislation from the Chamber of Deputies, consisted of representatives from local government, professional and vocational bodies, and high officials. At

75-538: A second constitution was approved by referendum which saw the introduction of a two chambered legislature, the Chamber of Deputies  [ et ] ( Riigivolikogu ) and the National Council ( Riiginõukogu ). Elections were subsequently held in 1938 where only individual candidates were allowed to run. During the subsequent periods of Soviet occupation (1940–41), German occupation (1941–44), and

100-678: A moderate threshold (2%) was used. The sessions of the Riigikogu take place in the Toompea Castle , where a new building in an unusual Expressionist style was erected in the former courtyard of the medieval castle in 1920–1922. In 1933 amendments to the first Constitution was approved by referendum, where more power was given to an executive President. The following year, the President used these new powers to adjourn parliament and declared martial law to avert an alleged coup. In 1937,

125-401: A preamble and 15 chapters of provisions. The preamble reads: With unwavering faith and a steadfast will to strengthen and develop the state, which is established on the inextinguishable right of the people of Estonia to national self-determination and which was proclaimed on 24 February 1918, which is founded on liberty, justice and law, which shall protect internal and external peace, and

150-539: Is a pledge to present and future generations for their social progress and welfare, which shall guarantee the preservation of the Estonian nation, language and culture through the ages, the people of Estonia , on the basis of § 1 of the Constitution which entered into force in 1938, and by a referendum held on 28 June 1992, adopted the following Constitution. The current Constitution contains 15 chapters. For

175-460: Is the fundamental law of the Republic of Estonia and establishes the state order as that of a democratic republic where the supreme power is vested in its citizens. The first Constitution was adopted by the freely elected Estonian Constituent Assembly on 15 June 1920 and came into force on 21 December 1920. Heavily amended on 24 January 1934, following a referendum in 1933, it was in force until

200-584: The Chancellery of the Riigikogu ( Estonian : Riigikogu Kantselei ) is the administration supporting the Riigikogu in the performance of its constitutional functions. The departments of the Chancellery perform the daily functions. 59°26′09″N 24°44′14″E  /  59.43583°N 24.73722°E  / 59.43583; 24.73722 Constitution of Estonia The Constitution of Estonia ( Estonian : Eesti Vabariigi põhiseadus )

225-701: The Estonian Left Party and the Constitution Party merged to form the Estonian United Left Party ( Eestimaa Ühendatud Vasakpartei ). In a privacy rights legal dispute between Sirje Kingsepp and Eesti Päevaleht , the party was deemed "completely marginal" in Estonia's public life. Riigikogu Opposition (35) The Riigikogu ( Estonian: [ˈriːɡ̊iˈkoɡ̊u] , from Estonian riigi- , "of

250-562: The Riigikogu also ratifies significant foreign treaties that impose military and proprietary obligations and bring about changes in law, as well as approves the budget presented by the government as law, and monitors the executive power. 23 April 1919, the opening session of the Estonian Constituent Assembly is considered the founding date of the Parliament of Estonia. Established under the 1920 constitution ,

275-467: The Riigikogu had 100 members elected for a three-year term on the basis of proportional representation . Elections were fixed for the first Sunday in May of the third year of parliament. The first elections to the Riigikogu took place in 1920. From 1923 to 1932, there were four more elections to the Riigikogu. The elections were on a regional basis, without any threshold in the first two elections, but from 1926

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300-445: The established 5% national threshold , and the use of a modified D'Hondt formula (the divisor is raised to the power 0.9). This modification makes for more disproportionality than does the usual form of the formula. The seat allocation refers to de facto allocation, as defectors from fractions are not allowed to join other ones between elections. The salary of the speaker is €8318.19 per month. Established on October 5 of 1992,

325-437: The executive and the judiciary, leading to instability and frequent changes of government. A State Elder served as both head of state and head of government. Due to chronic government instability (18 governments headed by 10 men from 1920 to 1934), attempts were made to redraft the Constitution. In a referendum held in 1932, voters rejected two proposed drafts of a new Constitution. Still, a constitutional amendment, proposed by

350-436: The executive and the legislature according to the principles of Montesquieu . The Constitution provided for a high degree of public initiative and referendums, and made provisions for cultural autonomy . Despite the Constitution being modelled upon Montesquieu's ideas, there was an imbalance in the distribution of power. The document was radically parliamentarian, vesting the single-chamber Riigikogu with extensive power over

375-526: The old title of State Elder—is a largely ceremonial post. However, like the 1938 Constitution, the government is headed by a separate Prime Minister. The Constitution of the Republic of Estonia Amendment Act , passed by the 2003 Estonian European Union membership referendum under section 162 of the 1992 Constitution, enabled Estonia to join the European Union . The current Constitution contains

400-496: The populist Estonian War of Independence Veterans' League ( Vaps movement) was adopted in a referendum in 1933 and came into force on 24 January 1934. This amendment, which vested broad powers in the State Elder while reducing the size and power of the Riigikogu, had such a vast impact on the governing system that it is frequently mistaken for a new constitution ("the 1934 Constitution") in its own right. The State Elder had

425-583: The power to issue decrees with the force of law. In order to prevent the Vaps movement from coming to power under this new Constitution, Konstantin Päts , who was serving as "Prime Minister in Duties of the State Elder" pending elections, retained power in a bloodless self-coup on 12 March 1934. Believing that the amended constitution was too authoritarian, Päts pressed for the adoption of a new Constitution. In 1936,

450-432: The presidency created in 1938, it restores the unicameral legislature established in 1920. It explicitly asserts its continuity with the Estonian state as it existed between 1918 and 1940, and thus provides a restitutive basis for Estonia’s independence. Indeed, it was adopted by a referendum, in accordance with the 1938 document. Like the 1920 Constitution, the head of state—titled President after some debate about restoring

475-518: The same time, the Chamber of Deputies was directly elected by the people. The head of state was given the title of "President"; he was no longer directly elected by the people, but instead was chosen by an electoral college consisting of both chambers of the National Assembly and additional representatives of local government. The President was vested with fairly broad powers (including the power to veto legislation passed by parliament), but

500-649: The second Soviet occupation (1944–1991) the Parliament was disbanded. The premises of the Riigikogu were used by the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR during the second Soviet occupation. In September 1992, a year after Estonia had regained its independence from the Soviet Union, elections to the Parliament took place on the basis of the third Constitution of Estonia adopted in a referendum in

525-411: The second Constitution was enacted on 1 January 1938. It remained in force, de facto , until 16 June 1940, when the Soviet Union occupied Estonia and, de jure , until 28 June 1992, when the third and current Constitution of the Republic of Estonia was adopted by referendum. The first Constitution reflected Jean-Jacques Rousseau 's idea of national sovereignty. Power was split between the judiciary,

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550-465: The state", and kogu , "assembly") is the unicameral parliament of Estonia . In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the prime minister and chief justice of the Supreme Court , and elects (either alone or, if necessary, together with representatives of local government within a broader electoral college) the president . Among its other tasks,

575-471: The summer of the same year. The 1992 constitution, which incorporates elements of the 1920 and 1938 Constitutions and explicitly asserts its continuity with the Estonian state as it existed between 1918 and 1940, sees the return of a unicameral parliament with 101 members. The most recent parliamentary elections were held on 5 March 2023. The main differences between the current system and a pure political representation , or proportional representation, system are

600-538: Was replaced by another constitution in 1978, based on the 1977 Soviet constitution. In 1990, the Supreme Soviet of Estonia declared the 1940 takeover illegal and partly restored the 1938 Constitution as part of a transition to de facto independence. The present Constitution was enacted after a referendum on 28 June 1992. It incorporates elements of the Constitutions of 1920 and 1938. While retaining

625-513: Was somewhat less powerful than the State Elder under the 1934 amendments. A Stalinist -style "constitution" was introduced illegally, not having been subjected to referendum as required by the 1938 Constitution, by a Soviet-backed puppet government on 25 August 1940, a few weeks after Estonia had been invaded and occupied by, and annexed into, the Soviet Union . It was based on the 1936 Soviet constitution. The Soviet Estonian 1940 constitution

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