EKRE lawmakers' complaint over Madise's registration referred to Supreme Court

Estonia's National Electoral Committee has forwarded to the Supreme Court a complaint filed by nine members of the Riigikogu from the EKRE faction, who are challenging the registration of the sitting Chancellor of Justice, Ülle Madise, as a candidate for president.

The complaint followed the committee's August 25 decision to register Madise as a presidential candidate. The lawmakers argue that registering a sitting Chancellor of Justice as a candidate violates the Constitution and are demanding the decision be overturned.

Committee's explanation

The electoral committee said the lawmakers' original submission could not be treated as a formal protest under the procedure set out in law, since protests may only concern violations in the voting process or in how results are determined. At the time EKRE's submission arrived, voting had not yet taken place, and candidate registration is a separate stage of the election procedure. The committee therefore did not process it as a protest but instead forwarded it to the Supreme Court as a complaint.

The lawmakers' central argument is that a sitting Chancellor of Justice cannot be registered as a presidential candidate because, in their view, seeking the head-of-state post itself conflicts with the constitutionally guaranteed independence of the office. The electoral committee disagrees, stating it checked the legal restrictions on presidential candidates and found no prohibition of the kind the lawmakers cite in current legislation.

The committee also pointed to a comparable case in Germany: in 1994, Constitutional Court judge Roman Herzog agreed to run for president, and the court ruled he could continue serving as judge during the campaign. After his election, his judicial mandate ended when his presidential term began on July 1, 1994.

The Supreme Court must now determine both whether the nine lawmakers have standing to challenge the registration and whether the registration of a sitting Chancellor of Justice complies with the Constitution.

Election timeline

Madise's candidacy for the first round of voting in the Riigikogu was put forward by 75 members of parliament. The first round will take place Wednesday, September 2, at 12:00. To be elected, a candidate needs support from at least two-thirds of parliament, or 68 votes. If no candidate secures a majority in the first round, a second round is scheduled for Thursday, September 3.