The only pre-election public debate in English will take place on 28 February at the Club of Different Rooms in Tallinn’s Telliskivi Creative City; the debate, ahead of the Estonian general election on 5 March, is organised by Estonishing Evenings, Telliskivi Creative City and Estonian World and six major political parties are represented.
On 5 March, Estonian citizens will go to the polls to elect the country’s next parliament. Estonian citizens living abroad can cast their votes in advance.
While non-citizens cannot participate in the parliamentary election in Estonia, there are many who would like to get an overview of the Estonian political landscape and different parties’ views on health care, education, economics, environment, immigration, foreign policy, security – and other matters.
The reasons differ – there are expats who are married to Estonian citizens, work here for long term or are contemplating to settle here in future.
The future of Estonia
To give as many people as possible a chance to participate in a pre-election discourse, Estonishing Evenings, the Telliskivi Creative City and Estonian World are hosting a public debate at the Club of Different Rooms on 28 February at 7:00 PM with candidates from the six major political parties. The debate is held in English and will cover topics that are relevant to the future of Estonia.
The confirmed debaters are Tanel Kiik (the Centre Party), a former social affairs minister and currently a deputy mayor of Tallinn; Andres Sutt (the Reform Party), a former IT minister and currently an MP; Züleyxa Izmailova (Estonia 200), a political activist; Jaak Madison (EKRE), a member of the European Parliament. The candidates representing Isamaa and the Social Democrats are to be confirmed.
The debate will be moderated by Joao Rei, a Tallinn-based Portuguese expat and communication expert.
The audience is encouraged to ask questions in advance as well as publicly during the event.
The Estonishing Evenings series runs English-speaking events that host different speakers expressing their viewpoints and experiences on hot topics and matters concerning both the locals and non-natives living in Estonia. Since 2017, it has hosted over 35 events, attended by over 3,000 people from 80 different countries.
