Estonia's Greens and Left Union to contest Riigikogu elections; Free Party undecided

Two small parties outside the Estonian parliament, the Estonian Greens and the Left Union, have confirmed they plan to run in the upcoming Riigikogu elections. Meanwhile, the recently renamed Free Party says it may skip the vote entirely due to the high financial cost of fielding a full candidate list.

Three of Estonia's smaller, parliament-absent parties are weighing their options ahead of the upcoming Riigikogu elections, with very different levels of certainty about their participation.

Greens and Left Union press ahead

The Estonian Greens and the Left Union have both confirmed they intend to compete in the next parliamentary elections. Green co-chair Rasmus Lahtvee said preparations are already under way, the party programme is being revised and conversations are being held with potential candidates.

Both parties insist they occupy a distinct political space from the Social Democrats, despite repeated suggestions that they should merge. «Many of our people really did move to the Social Democrats, and as far as I have heard, they were disappointed with the choice they made. That is just the way it is,» Lahtvee said.

Left Union chair Indrek Nägelik, who took the helm at the start of 2026 and prefers the title "mouthpiece" over party leader, describes his organisation as being in a period of renewal. The party, formerly known as the United Left Party of Estonia (OLPE), currently has 508 members, only marginally above the statutory minimum. Most are pensioners who joined under the old OLPE banner. Nägelik said the party's active core of around 30-40 people communicates daily via a Discord chat, and argued that its weekly engagement rate may even exceed that of Estonia's larger parties.

On tax policy, Nägelik drew a sharp contrast with the Social Democrats: «We have been hearing for many years that the Health Insurance Fund's reserves will run out within a decade. The Left Union is somewhat more radical and specific on that point, we are more demanding than the Social Democrats.»

Former Green leader urges merger

Former Estonian Greens chair Zuleikha Ismailova, who is now back in the Social Democratic Party, called on the Greens to abandon their independent path and join forces with the Social Democrats. Ismailova previously led the Greens, was also a member of the Social Democrats before that, and entered the Riigikogu as a member of Eesti 200.

«If they haven't grown their coffers to an incredible size and haven't been joined by very active young people with the energy to carry this forward, then I think it would be right to join the Social Democrats and fight together,» she said. «One of the biggest problems in environmental protection over the years has been fragmentation. We need to unite more.»

Ismailova added that when she led the Greens and Indrek Saar led the Social Democrats, the two parties' boards held serious discussions about merging. She acknowledged, however, that she could not articulate what ideologically separates the Greens from the Social Democrats today, a gap she said is itself part of the problem.

Free Party faces a financial wall

The Free Party, which has just rebranded again, this time to "Estonian National Liberals, Free Party" (Eesti Rahvusliberaalid, Vabaerakond), is the most uncertain of the three about running. Party leader Märt Meesak told ERR that the financial barrier is enormous.

«If we simply count the deposit to field a full list of 125 names, that is around €100,000. That's without any campaign, and the money is not returned,» Meesak said. He argued the system punishes parties that do not receive state funding: «Those on state support get the money back. Those who are not penalise themselves.»

Meesak did not rule out skipping the election altogether. «It may well happen,» he said, adding that the Riigikogu race this time would be «very ugly» and that an immediate improvement in Estonia's situation after the election was unlikely regardless of the outcome.

The Free Party, which had 537 members as of 30 June, did not contest the 2023 parliamentary elections either. Meesak noted that when the party first launched 11 years ago it managed to enter parliament without significant funds, but acknowledged that «times were different then».