EU judges vote down Estonia’s steep cost to run for office

The Estonian Greens won a challenge to costly election deposits, with the EU’s top court warning financial barriers cannot be allowed to shut candidates out of political competition.(CN) — A shot at elected office came with too high a price tag in Estonia, the EU’s top court ruled Thursday.The Court of Justice of the European Union sided with the Estonian Greens over a deposit requirement that initially blocked seven candidates from registering for the June 2024 European Parliament election. The party asked Estonia’s Supreme Court to overturn their exclusion; that court sought an answer on whether the requirement complied with EU law.Running cost 4,100 euros ($4,702) per candidate, five monthly minimum wages, or 36,900 euros for a full nine-person list. Parties needed at least 5% of the nationwide vote to get their money back. Judges found that combination went further than necessary to deter unserious candidates and protect voters’ representation.The court accepted that deposits could encourage candidates to think seriously about serving. But governments could not screen out political programs simply because they seemed unlikely to attract enough votes.Candidates also had campaigns to fund, while parties faced legal restrictions on raising money. “Likewise, a strict deposit requirement could prevent the emergence of new parties and would run counter to the principle of political pluralism guaranteed under EU law,” the court said.Piret Ehin, professor of comparative politics at the University of Tartu, said the court had set an EU-wide standard without prescribing a common deposit or monetary ceiling.“The judgment sends a broader message that electoral integrity may be protected, but not by making political participation conditional on substantial financial resources,” Ehin said.The Greens submitted nine names but paid deposits for only two: Evelyn Sepp and Rasmus Lahtvee. Estonia’s Supreme Court temporarily cleared the other seven to run on May 14, 2024. Public broadcaster ERR reported the deposit had climbed from 2,700 euros in 2019 to 4,100 euros in 2024.Rasmus Lahtvee, co-chair of the Estonian Greens, welcomed the decision. “We took this fight to court because we don’t think politics should belong only to those who can afford the entry fee,” he said.He urged scrutiny of financial barriers in national elections, too, saying they widened the distance between elected representatives and voters.Getting onto the ballot did not settle the bill. The Greens finished below 5%, leaving their deposits unrefunded. The European court found its answer still mattered for both the constitutional challenge and a possible refund.Ekaterina R. Rashkova, associate professor at Utrecht University’s School of Governance, said deposits and signature requirements spread across Eastern Europe after the early-1990s regime changes to consolidate party competition. But she warned against setting deposits or refund thresholds too high.“Such conditions can be said to curb competition and to concentrate power in the hands of those who are already ruling,” she said.Estonia charged just one-fifth as much per candidate in national parliamentary elections. Judges left the national court to examine whether differences between the voting systems justified that gap.Fernando Casal Bértoa, associate professor in comparative politics at the University of Nottingham, welcomed the decision, pointing to lower refund thresholds in several other European countries.“While certain requirements might be allowed both for the creation of parties and their participation in elections, those shouldn’t be very onerous,” he said.Mihkel Solvak, associate professor of technology research at the University of Tartu’s Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies, said high entry barriers narrowed voter choice and sometimes suppressed turnout. Estonia’s seven European seats and single nationwide district made fears of an overcrowded ballot less persuasive, he said.“It might make sense for the Estonian legislator to unify the rules for candidacy and deposit sizes for EP and national elections with this judgment in mind,” he said.Estonia’s National Electoral Committee said the deposit and refund rules would need review before future European elections, but changes were for lawmakers to make. The committee said it had applied the law in force in 2024 and registered the seven candidates after the Supreme Court’s interim order; it did not set deposit amounts or refund conditions itself.The EU ruling cannot be appealed. Estonia’s Supreme Court must now apply it to the domestic case. The candidates got onto the ballot; whether the Greens get their money back remains for the national court.Courthouse News reporter Eunseo Hong is based in the Netherlands.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads