The far-right EKRE party, under its leader Martin Helme, has pledged not to admit more Ukrainian refugees. Kallas herself voted online in advance of Sunday's election Image: Pavel Golovkin/AP Photo/picture alliance However, it is not certain that Kallas, whom opinion polls cast as the favorite to lead the next government, can maintain her alliance with the Social Democrats and the conservative Isamaa (Fatherland) party. Kallas has also called for a strengthening of NATO's eastern flank against threats from Russia, which borders Estonia. The current coalition government, led by Kallas' Reform party, has vehemently supported EU sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine and backed Western arms deliveries to Kyiv. None of the nine parties running in the election was expected to win an absolute majority, meaning that a coalition will need to be formed. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video What is at stake? Some experts see the party as a potential candidate for a governing coalition.Įstonians vote in test of government's Ukraine aid The biggest surprise of the night was the success of the liberal Estonia 200 party, which won 14 seats and will enter parliament for the first time. have to invest in our security, our aggressive neighbor has not vanished and will not vanish, so we have to work with that,' Kallas said. Kallas told reporters on Sunday evening that her party was ready to form a strong coalition government that would keep up calling for pressure on Russia. If Kallas succeeds in crafting a functioning coalition, it would cement the Baltic nation's pro-European direction.

Prime Minister Kaja Kallas' pro-European and pro-Kyiv government faced a challenge from EKRE, a far-right party that wants to stop the entry of Ukrainian refugees and brake the country's transition to green energy. 'We have ruled out a coalition with EKRE and I stand by my words.' PM confident about forming strong coalition government

'This is much better than we expected,' Kallas said on Sunday night. Meanwhile, the Center Party, traditionally favored by Estonia’s sizable ethnic-Russian minority, came in third with 16 seats. The right-wing nationalist EKRE party came in second with 17 seats, down two seats compared to the last election. Kallas' liberal Reform Party won 37 out of 101 seats - three more than the last election in 2019 - after results were announced in the early hours of Monday morning. Estonia's ruling Reform Party came out on top in Sunday's parliamentary election, with Prime Minister Kaja Kallas now poised to form a new coalition for her second term in office.

Cast app for windows 10