Estonia's ruling coalition loses majority after 2 MPs quit parties

Kalev Stoicescu and Meelis Kiili's decisions to quit Eesti 200 and the Reform Party, respectively, means that the coalition now has just 50 votes in the 101-member parliament.
Estonia's two-party governing coalition has lost its majority on Monday after two members of parliament resigned from their respective parties, reducing the number of seats to 50 of 101.
Eesti 200's Kalev Stoicescu and Reform's Meelis Kiili separately announced they were leaving their parties. Stoicescu made the announcement on social media on Sunday evening, while Kiili did so on Monday morning.
Kalev Stoicescu
According to Stoicescu, the decision had been a long time coming and he had considered whether he wanted to remain in politics at all.
"I stepped down from the party's board back in February 2024. I did not run in the local elections in October 2025. I thought for a long time about whether to continue in politics at all. People close to me and voters have unanimously encouraged me to continue and run in the next Riigikogu elections. I trust myself and the people close to me," the politician said.
Stoicescu also said he has already received offers to join other parties but has not yet made a decision.
"I want to continue contributing to Estonia's future, particularly in the areas of defense, security and foreign policy," Stoicescu said.
Meelis Kiili
"This is not a decision made on the spur of the moment. I have arrived at it over a longer period of time, primarily because my views on Estonia's national defense and security and their long-term development have increasingly diverged from the party's political choices," he said, explaining his decision.
Kiili said he does not regret joining the Reform Party.
"I have met many good people in the Reform Party and made good acquaintances and friends. I am grateful for that. But in politics, there comes a point when you have to ask yourself whether belonging to a party helps you stand up for the principles that brought you into politics or whether it begins to constrain you. For me, the answer to that question is now clear.

"That is why the Reform Party and I are going our separate ways."
"I will continue in the Riigikogu as an unaffiliated MP and will keep working on issues where my knowledge and experience can benefit Estonia."
Meelis Kiili joined the Reform Party ahead of the last Riigikogu elections, on November 2, 2022. He ran in Ida-Viru County, received 1,289 votes and was elected.
Following Kiili's departure from the Reform Party and its parliamentary group, as well as Kalev Stoicescu's announcement a day earlier that he was leaving Eesti 200, the governing coalition now has 50 MPs in parliament, effectively making it a minority government.
Stoicescu associated with Parempoolsed
Stoicescu himself said he intends to run in the next Riigikogu elections and has already received offers to join other parties.
ERR has been told that Stoicescu is most likely to join the nonparliamentary Parempoolsed (Right-wingers) ahead of the Riigikogu elections. Polling firms Emor, Norstat and Turu-uuringud currently put the party's support at 6–7 percent. Parempoolsed have struggled with a lack of well-known figures and Stoicescu joining would certainly help them.
It will also be interesting to see how Stoicescu's departure from Eesti 200 affects the dynamics of the Riigikogu's committees, particularly the National Defense Committee, which Stoicescu currently chairs. The National Defense Committee has 11 members, and before Stoicescu left Eesti 200, the governing coalition held a narrow six-member majority.
The next Riigikogu elections will take place March 7, 2027, seven months from now.

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Editor: Marcus Turovski











