Greens to run local elections lists in smaller and bigger municipalities alike
The Estonian Green Party (Rohelised) is aiming to run in smaller municipalities at October's local elections, as well as the larger towns.
Greens co-chair Evelyn Sepp said the party's goal is to make gains in representation compared with the last local elections in 2021, when it gained a seat in just one municipality out of the total 79.
The party's campaigning budget is necessarily small, Sepp went on, with the main emphasis on local events, contacts, and social media.
At the same time, the Green's campaign will be less shouty than that of some of the other parties, she noted.
"We will certainly not be scaring people out on the street and on building walls, and we will certainly not be flooding the airwaves, talking ourselves up more prettily through advertising for seconds and minutes or hours," Sepp said.
This was more important than a campaign slogan, and offering an alternative to thinking people, she noted.
Sepp could not put an exact figure on the campaign budget.
Of larger towns, Tallinn, Tartu, Narva and Pärnu, are on the campaign map, Sepp went on, but so are some smaller municipalities, including in Ida- and Lääne-Viru counties, Lääne County, rural Pärnu County and much of South Estonia.
Sepp herself has recently moved to Tartu and is settling in there. "I hope and believe that the Greens' contribution to making Tartu a better place to live," she added.
As for candidate lists, these are still being compiled, she said, while campaigning themes will include access to local services and the living environment, and also security and mental health.
"We will certainly not talk about wage increases and lowering the tax burden, which of course also affect all people, but still — every song in the right repertoire. And maybe people do have reason to think about the fact that if you don't have a quality living environment, then you won't buy yourself health and happiness with money. It has to be systematic, well thought through, broad-based, and honest policy," Sepp continued.
Polling day at the local elections is Sunday, October 19, preceded by several days' advance voting.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
