Foreigners, including Russians, were deprived of right to vote in local elections in Estonia
Estonian President Alar Karis has signed a law depriving foreigners and stateless persons permanently residing in the country of the right to vote in local elections.
This was reported by ERR, Censor.NET reports.
"The decision that only Estonian and EU citizens will be able to vote in the local elections is undoubtedly legitimate. It is equally important that those who are left without the right to vote do not think that the state wants to exclude them from public life or sees them as a security threat. This cannot be achieved with mere words. Only the parliament can guarantee that people who have lived here for a long time and are loyal to Estonia will be provided with an open path to Estonian citizenship, even if the free choice to decide on citizenship has been complicated by other states," the Estonian leader said.
The President emphasized that the protection of domestic peace cannot remain just a slogan.
"Today, we are in a situation where it is irresponsible not to be interested in how even decisions that seem to be right affect society as a whole," Karis concluded.
