OREANDA-NEWS The ruling Reform Party in Estonia wanted to deprive Russian citizens of the right to vote in municipal elections in the country, despite the fact that the government had not previously supported a similar idea by other deputies. This is reported by Interfax.

Party member Pärtel-Peeter Pere said that the faction will submit to parliament this week a bill allowing citizens of other countries to be deprived of the opportunity to vote in local elections without having to change the Constitution of Estonia.

He did not specify that the project is aimed specifically at Russians, but the head of the party's office in Tallinn, Riina Solman, stressed that it is important for the Reform Party to "eradicate the Russian sphere of influence" from the management of the capital, developing Estonian-speaking and Estonianism.

The leader of the Reform Party is the current Prime Minister of Estonia, Kaya Kallas.

Earlier in March, the Estonian government did not support the idea of depriving Russians and Belarusians of the right to participate in local elections. A similar bill was initiated by the Isamaa parliamentary faction. According to the document, only those citizens of third countries with whom Tallinn has concluded bilateral agreements, as well as those who have a long-term or permanent residence permit, would have the right to vote in municipal elections.

In addition, the initiative was not supported by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic. The Ministry of Justice reported that the project is not commensurate with the set goal.