ERR's news portal reported in April that the Koos party had been unable to open a bank account with credit institutions operating in Estonia, raising the question of how the party would be able to pay election deposits for its candidates.

The party has now sent a new letter to the National Electoral Committee confirming that it intends to participate in the Riigikogu elections on March 7 next year.

In the letter, sent on September 15, the party said the situation had not changed: It still does not have a valid bank account through which it can make payments.

"The party has repeatedly approached banks with the aim of opening a bank account but has received refusals," Koos board member Igor Hopp said, attaching confirmations of the banks' refusals.

This has left the party in a catch-22: It must pay an election deposit to participate in the elections, but doing so requires a bank account. Without an account, it cannot make the payment. And without confirmation of the payment, the party cannot submit a complete set of documents to register its candidates.

The party is asking the National Electoral Committee to establish a specific, lawful and practically feasible mechanism that would allow it to meet the legal requirement in a situation where it objectively has no bank account despite its efforts to open one.

"For us, it is fundamentally important to receive practical guidance: What exactly must the Koos party do to pay the election deposit, obtain proper confirmation that it has been paid and be allowed to register candidates for the 2027 Riigikogu elections?" Hopp wrote.

Arne Koitmäe, head of the State Electoral Office, has previously said that under the Riigikogu Election Act, before submitting candidates for registration, a party must transfer the required election deposit for each person submitted for registration to the Ministry of Finance's bank account. The documents submitted must include a copy of the payment order proving that the deposit has been paid.

"In practice, this requires the existence and use of a bank account controlled by the party. The law does not provide for alternative payment methods or special procedures," Koitmäe explained. He added that a third party is not permitted to pay the election deposit on behalf of a party.

The Koos party was registered on May 8, 2023. It initially sought to register under the name Estonian Patriots Party Koos, but the registration department did not approve the application. The party has 723 members, the best known of whom is Aivo Peterson, who has been convicted of treason by two court instances. According to the latest Norstat poll, the party's support stood at 1.0 percent.

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