Party ratings: Isamaa support remains high, SDE's falls
Opposition party Isamaa has retained its highest rating from among Estonia's political parties according to a recent survey.
The poll, conducted by Norstat on behalf of NGO the Institute of Societal Studies, found Isamaa lay 9.3 percentage points ahead of the second-highest rating party, the Center Party.
The Social Democratic Party (SDE) saw its support fall over the past week according to Norstat, though a recent fall in support for the coalition Reform Party seems to have halted.
By party, Isamaa picked up 28.1 percent of support, the Center Party 18.8 percent, and the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) just behind at 17.8 percent.
SDE polled at 12.2 percent over the past week, closely followed by the Reform Party at 11.6 percent. The non-parliamentary Parempoolsed party rated at 6.2 percent, above the 5 percent threshold required to win seats in any given constituency under Estonia's electoral system. Coalition party Eesti 200 polled below the threshold, however, at 2.8 percent.
SDE's support has fallen by two percentage points over the past three weeks according to Norstat.
A total of 14.4 percent of respondents to the survey backed one of the two coalition parties, Reform or Eesti 200, compared with 76.9 percent for the four opposition parties – Isamaa, Center, SDE and EKRE – combined.
Norstat compiles its surveys on a weekly basis, aggregating them over the preceding four weeks. The latest survey covers the period August 4 to August 31, with 4,000 Estonian citizens of Riigikogu voting age (18+) polled both online and over the phone.
The next election is to the 79 municipalities in Estonia on October 19. The voting age for local elections is 16+, and EU citizens resident in Estonia are eligible to vote.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Barbara Oja
