Far right populist party takes the lead in Estonia's general elections
Estonia's far right populist party is in the lead as counting continues in Estonia's general elections, with results expected by Monday morning.
Counting is underway in Estonia following voting in the parliamentary elections that incumbent Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas, of the centre-right Reform Party went in as a favourite to win.
But on Sunday night, with results from 369 of the 405 polling stations in, Martin Helme’s far-right populist party was in the lead with 25,2% while Kallas trailed behind at 20,1%.
Helme’s Conservative People`s Party of Estonia (EKRE) wants to limit the nation’s exposure to the Ukraine crisis and blames the current government for Estonia’s high inflation rate.
National security in the wake of neighbouring Russia's invasion of Ukraine and socio-economic issues, particularly the rising cost of living, were main campaign themes.
Nine political parties all fielded candidates for Estonia’s 101-seat parliament, or Riigikogu. Over 900,000 people were eligible to vote in the general election, and nearly half voted in advance.
But things could still change. A record number of citizens voted electronically and its widely believed that these e-votes will favour the prime minister.
Either way, if she manages to gain ground over Helme’s party, she will need to form a new coalition government.
Preliminary results are expected by early Monday.