Andre Hanim News Today

Two and half years ago Liberal Citizen Foundation (Salk) was established. Already back then one of their goals was to influence the Estonian parliament elections of 2023, so that liberal forces would get majority. And they succeeded. Eesti Ekspress talked to more than 50 people about what Salk has done and how they have affected Estonian policy.

Most of the political parties represented at the Riigikogu have reported their third quarter 2022 (Q3 2022) financials to the Political Parties Financing Surveillance Committee (ERJK).

The opposition Center Party is set to hold elections to chairman in a few weeks' time, and for the first time since 2016, two candidates are in the running and have been nominated: Current incumbent and former prime minister, Jüri Ratas, and Jaan Toots.

Riigikogu elections are just over six months away, with parties about to launch or already working on campaigns.

The coalition Center Party has been charged with influence peddling in respect of a central Tallinn real estate development. The party's former secretary general, Mihhail Korb, and businessman Hillar Teder, have also been charged with the same offense.

The Center Party has returned an illicit donation totaling €843,000. Center had been hit with the penalty in respect of campaign work provided for it by an outside supplier around a decade ago, and which had been found to constitute an illegal donation.

The secretary general of the coalition Center Party has sent a letter to the Political Parties Financing Monitoring Committee (ERJK) to ask about the extent of credit the party can seek to return an illicit donation of €850,000.

The Center Party has appealed to members to help it out in repaying money which a court ruled constituted an illegal donation.

Campaign expenses for last October's local elections ranged from around €400,000, to more than three times that amount, in the case of the Reform party, according to the fourth quarter 2021 (Q4 2021) reports all the major parties have been obliged to submit, ETV news show 'Aktuaalne kaamera' (AK) reported Monday evening.

Kairet Remmak-Grassmann, who left the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) in October is now set to join Tallinn city council's Center Party group.