- Title: Nationalist party third in the polls ahead of Estonian general election
- Date: 28th February 2019
- Summary: VENICE, ITALY (RECENT - FEBRUARY, 2019) (REUTERS) TOURISTS CARRYING TROLLEY BAGS NEAR ST. MARK'S SQUARE VIEW OF ST. MARK'S SQUARE VARIOUS OF STREET CROWDED WITH TOURISTS TOURIST TAKING A PHOTO WITH MOBILE PHONE TOURIST GUIDE LEADING GROUP OF TOURISTS NEAR ST. MARK'S SQUARE TOURISTS KISSING WHILE TAKING SELFIE TOURIST TAKING PICTURE PIGEON LANDING ON HEAD OF CHILD SEAGULL I
- Embargoed: 14th March 2019 13:10
- Keywords: Estonian general election Estonian nationalist party Juri Ratas Estonian Prime Minister Estonian elections early voting electronic voting
- Location: TALLINN, ESTONIA
- City: TALLINN, ESTONIA
- Country: Estonia
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA002A3HWZEH
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Estonia will hold a general election on Sunday (March 3) with polls showing Prime Minister Juri Ratas's governing Centre Party jostling for first place with the opposition Reform party.
When advance voting closed on Wednesday (February 27) nearly 40 percent of the electorate - more than 340,000 people - had already voted online or in person at polling stations.
The Conservative People's Party (EKRE) is competing for votes with both main parties. Led by Chair Mart Helme, the nationalist, anti-migration party began to grow in 2015 with Europe's migrant crisis.
Helme said his party platform stood for Estonia's sovereignty, asserting the European Union (EU) was increasingly centralised with its executive Commission becoming a "kind of European government".
Political analyst Juhan Kivirahk said support for EKRE had grown due to the perceived distance between Estonia's leaders and voters, and likened EKRE's message to U.S. President Donald Trump's 'America First' campaign slogan.
Both Centre, which is currently in coalition with the smaller Social Democrat and Fatherland parties, and Reform have said they will not work with EKRE to build a coalition after the election.
The split also reflects regional differences in the small country of just 1.3 million people. EKRE's support is strongest in counties furthest from Estonia's capital Tallinn.
The election could see five or six parties holding seats in the 101-seat parliament, with poll-watchers expecting challenging coalition talks as a result.
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