Nearly 9,700 candidates to run in Estonia's October local elections
A total of 9,697 candidates are in the running for Estonia's local government council elections this fall — down slightly from just over 10,000 four years ago.
State Electoral Office (riigi valimisteenistus, RVT) director Arne Koitmäe told ERR that about one-third of candidates are on electoral alliance lists and two-thirds are running on party lists this time.
"There are 67 independent candidates," he added.
The overall number of candidates fell slightly — down by 328 from the nationwide total of 10,025 candidates in the 2021 local elections.
Candidate lists for next month's elections will be published over the course of Monday. Once candidates are registered, they have three days to withdraw from the race, meaning there may still be some changes.
Three complaints have also been filed with the National Electoral Committee (Vabariigi Valimiskomisjon, VVK), all concerning residence registration.
According to Koitmäe, the complaints are about what a candidate's registered place of residence was and whether it matches their actual place of residence.
Estonia's local government council election week will run from October 13 through October 19.
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Editor: Urmet Kook, Aili Vahtla
