Parempoolsed have asked the court to annul ERR's decision and allow the party's Tartu mayoral candidate, Vahur Kraft, to take part in the Tartu-focused debate on October 7. They are also requesting interim relief to suspend ERR's refusal before the program airs.

"The Public Broadcasting Act clearly states that, to ensure political balance, all candidates running in the election must be given equal opportunities. Excluding a party that surpasses the electoral threshold from a public debate, while allowing representatives of lists without broad public support on air, is a violation of the law and a disregard for voters' rights," said Lavly Perling, chair of Parempoolsed.

Peep Kala, head of ERR's news programs and responsible for election debates, said he sees no justification for Parempoolsed's court action, as ETV has followed the applicable rules. "In our election debates, we invite party representatives according to the election coverage rules approved by ERR's supervisory board. These state that up to eight participants can take part in TV debates, based on the length of the candidate list and the comprehensiveness of the party's program. In Tartu, Parempoolsed fielded 21 candidates, fewer than nine other parties and electoral alliances, all of which have also published election programs. That is the reason why Parempoolsed did not qualify for the Tartu debate," Kala explained.

However, Parempoolsed did receive an invitation to the Pärnu debate and will also be invited to the Tallinn debate, where in turn some other parties and electoral alliances did not qualify.

"I also want to stress how Parempoolsed are framing their court action. They claim public broadcasting banned their representative from participating in the October 7 program. That is not true — Parempoolsed simply did not receive an invitation to the show. There is a fundamental difference between not being invited and being banned," Kala said.

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