European Parliament voter registration in Estonia closing on Friday

TALLINN - The voter list for the European Parliament elections will be finalized on Friday based on the data in the population register as of May 10.

Citizens of other European Union member states residing in Estonia have until Friday to submit their applications if they wish to vote for Estonian candidates.

Leading up to this year's European Parliament elections, for the first time, citizens of other EU countries living here can apply to be added to the Estonian voter list via the e-population register. Enel Pungas, head of the population operations department at the Interior Ministry, said that this option has been used actively.

"Citizens of the European Union residing here have preferred the e-service for submitting applications -- as of now, 415 out of 425 applications have been submitted through it. This shows that the new e-population register service is user-friendly and functioning well," Pungas said. Previously, applications could only be submitted by mail or email.

Voters for the European Parliament are entered into the voter list based on the population register data as of May 10. Individuals without registered residence data in the population register will not be included in the voter list and will not be able to participate in the elections. They will be added to the voter list if they update their residence data in the population register.

Residence data can be most conveniently and quickly updated via the portal rahvastikuregister.ee. Information about one's place of residence can also be submitted in person at the local municipal or city government.

The Ministry of the Interior sends election information materials to the email address registered in the population register, which includes general information about the right to vote and the locations of polling stations in the voter's local municipality or in the district of Tallinn.

The Interior Ministry will send out the election information materials to voters by the end of May. Most information sheets will be sent by email. If a voter has not provided an email address in the population register, they will receive the information pamphlet by mail at their registered address.

In the European Parliament elections, Estonian citizens who have turned 18 by election day can vote for Estonian candidates. Also, citizens of other European Union countries living in Estonia can vote here if they have submitted an application to do so.

If an Estonian citizen permanently resides in another European Union member state and has applied to vote for candidates in the country of residence, they can no longer vote for Estonian candidates.

The European Parliament elections will be held on Sunday, June 9. The election week starts on Monday, June 3, and voting is possible both in advance and online until Saturday. On election Sunday, voting can only be done with a paper ballot.