Chairman of the Isamaa faction Helir-Valdor Seeder said he has not seen the draft, but that Isamaa still prefers its own.
“The only reasonable solution is to proceed with the bill already in the Riigikogu for amending the constitution, which has also been signed by two Eesti 200 members of parliament. If we can reach a broad consensus in the Riigikogu, we can make all the necessary amendments to this bill. Right now, it’s crucial that the first reading takes place in November,” Seeder said.
“In our view, it should be addressed in the same way by defining, through constitutional amendment, who has the right to vote, rather than specifying who does not,” he added.
Helme: Ukrainians should not be able to vote in local elections
Martin Helme (EKRE). Source: Priit Mürk/ERR
EKRE chairman Martin Helme said the party is ready to support an amendment to change voting rights for third-country nationals in the constitution.
“When we talk about this restriction of the right to vote, our firm position is that we support it in any case. We have been advocating for it ourselves. For 10 years, we have argued that voting rights should be restricted to citizens, both in local and parliamentary elections, which would, of course, still inevitably include voting rights for citizens of European Union countries,” Helme told ERR.
Helme stressed that EKRE does not support extending voting rights to Ukrainian citizens.
“Ukrainian citizens form the second-largest group of non-citizens eligible to vote here, following Russian citizens. Ideologically, I do not see the point in granting voting rights to some Slavic countries while withholding them from others. As we all know, many Ukrainians here often hold dual citizenship with Russia, carrying two passports in their pockets. Most of them are Russian-speaking and largely immersed in the Russian information sphere. I am not labeling them as [President Vladimir] Putin supporters, but their worldview and voting preferences are likely not much different from those of Russian citizens living here,” he said.
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Publish date : 2024-11-02 02:26:00
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