Is Estonia Moving to a Two-Chambers Parliament?

When president Toomas Hendrik Ilves warned the Parliament already years ago from not becoming a rubber stamp, then in spring, during the gatherings called “My Estonia“, for collecting ideas of all the Estonians, the idea of changing the Parliament into two-chamber Parliament and therefore more connected with real life was proposed.

Is the Parliament at risk of becoming a "rubber stamp"?

Several workshops have been active already since the end of the summer. Their purpose was to encourage to come together people who, participating in the event “My Estonia“, exchanged their ideas on some certain subjects. One of those was a workshop on democracy subjects, where people discuss over the models of ruling of communities, and also state.

So, for example, already during the event it was found that the current Parliamentary democracy has exhausted itself, and different solutions were suggested, starting from a chambered to a virtual Parliament. It was also mentioned that the election law does not take into account the reality, and the ones without a party have low opportunities to have their say in real politics.

One of the supporter of the idea of two-chamber Parliament is Peeter Jalakas, the head of the workshop and the leader of the Green Party, whose dream is that already with the new Parliament elections the proportion of the parties would lower in the work of the Parliament. By the idea, politicians would belong into one chamber, and into the other one, specialists of different fields, who would also keep their specialized job.

“Two-chamber Parliament would ensure to our politicians the connection with real life,“ said Jalakas, stressing that his idea is certainly not a general statement of the Green Party.

Jalakas pointed out as a weakness of the current system the fact that when people are elected to the Parliament, their specialized career ends, they become used to the comforts, incomes, and when leaving the Parliament they need to integrate back to the society. „In the fear of that they don’t want to leave their position,“ he said.
Former politician, a member of the council of Network of Estonian Non-profit Organizations, the head of Caritas Estonia Lagle Parek is deeply convinced that the whole system of the state needs a reform. „We have the crisis for personalities and there aren’t enough of politicians with necessary preparation in the Parliament,“ she mentioned. „I have heard in the Parliament that even if the main work is done in the committees, then also there only small part is working.“

A writer and a politician, Jaan Kaplinski has also said that only people who have passed the competence selection should be sent to Parliament.

Parek considered as a problem also the fact that the coherence between ministries and government is too small.

„There is lack of courage and will to bring to life necessary reforms. The Education and administrative reform should be carried out at the same time now, but the politicians living from elections to elections have no bravery,“ she said.

Urmas Reinsalu, an IRL mandate in Parliament, has already mentioned earlier that the Parliament born from the legislative phase needs new content and the discussion carrying role, but he didn’t rush to approve the idea of two-chamber Parliament. According to him, the role of the second chamber would be to block or reconsider, and wouldn’t have much legislative initiative. „Of course, it is good to have discussions on that subject, but we are already now facing problems that it is not possible to carry out certain reforms on the Parliamentary level. We do not benefit from creating a supplementary system to reduce the decision-making speed,“ stated Reinsalu. „ The formally non-political upper chamber created for balancing the power would only slow down processes and would still be basically a political chamber.“

President Lennart Meri suggested during his term of office that the upper chamber of the Parliament could be composed of county governors.

Estonian VI Parliament
07.04.1938 – 05.07.1940

Lower chamber – Riigivolikogu
• 80 members
• 64 members were supporters of the government (the only one allowed to the elections, the organisation named Põhiseaduse Elluviimise Rahvarinne(a left wing party), and its supporters)
• 16 opposition mandates (Ants Piip, Jaan Tõnisson, a couple of former settlers and Veterans of the War of Independence of Estonia, representatives of the Manufacturers Union, left wing and right wing socialists, two Russian mandates)
• Parties were not allowed, there is no opposition marked in the official list of the Parliament
Upper Chamber – Riiginõukogu
• 40 members
there belonged the representatives of the following occupations:
• Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces
• The head of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church
• The head of the Orthodox Church of Estonia
• The rector of the University of Tartu
• The rector of the Tallinn University of Technology
• The president of the Estonian Bank
Were elected to Riiginõukogu :
• 3 representatives of county government
• 1 representative of city government
• 16 representatives of different professions from county governments ( 5 from the field of agriculture and fishery, 5 from industry, handicraft, trade, shipping, and  joint activity, 3 from contractors, 1 from city immovable property ownership, 1 from liberal profession, and 1 from the field of home economy)
• 1 representative of National Defence League
• 1 representative from the field of education and culture
• 1 representative of the culture of minor nationalities
• 1 representative from the field of public health

In addition, the president named by his special rights 10 members to the council.