Parliamentary election in Estonia in 1929

The Estonian parliamentary elections in 1929 took place from May 11th to 13th. It was the elections for the fourth legislative term of the Estonian Parliament ( Riigikogu ) after the adoption of the Estonian Constitution of 1920.

Electoral process

The 100 MPs were elected for a three-year legislative period after proportional representation. Seats were allocated according to the D'Hondt procedure .

As in the previous parliamentary elections in 1926 , only parties that had won at least two seats could enter parliament. All candidates were required to leave bail in order to be eligible for election.

It was compulsory to vote in Estonia.

Election result

The election of 1929 showed a largely consolidated spectrum of Estonian parties. It brought few changes in the composition of Parliament. As in the previous Riigikogu , ten parties remained represented, which did not make governance any easier.

The three largest parties in particular were able to maintain their 1926 result or even slightly expand it. August Rei ( Eesti Sotsialistlik Tööliste Party ), Jaan Teemant ( Põllumeeste Kogud ) and Rudolf Penno ( Association of “Settlers, Smallholders and State Tenants” ) were the winners of the elections.

The other parties were also able to roughly hold their 1926 election results. The loser in the election was the Estonian Labor Party (Eesti Tööerakond) under Otto Strandman , which only had ten instead of the previous 13 members.

The German-speaking and Swedish- speaking minorities had formed an electoral alliance. You now have three MPs instead of the previous two. With Hans Pöhl , a representative of the Swedish minority moved into the Riigikogu in addition to the two Baltic-German MPs .

Before the elections, the previously left socialist Estonian Workers' Party had been infiltrated by the communists and introduced a strict course directed towards Moscow . It received 6.2% of the vote.

Official end result

• Number of eligible voters: 712,670 (excluding army personnel)
• Votes cast: 508,106 (including military personnel)
• Turnout: 69.3% (including military personnel)
• Invalid votes (including military personnel): 3,110 (0.6%)
• Valid votes (including military personnel): 504,996 (99.4%)

Official final result of the 1929 parliamentary election (100 seats)

Political party		German name	political orientation	% (Election 1929)	Seats (election 1926)	% (Election 1926)	Seats (election 1926)
	Eesti Sotsialistlik Tööliste party	Estonian Socialist Workers Party	social democratic	24.0%	25th	22.9	24
	Põllumeeste Kogud	Association of farmers	agrarian-conservative	23.1%	24	21.4%	23
	Asunikkude, Väikepõllupidajate ja Riigirentnikkude Koondus	Association of "settlers, small farmers and state tenants"	agrarian; Middle left	13.7%	14th	13.5%	14th
	Eesti Tööerakond	Estonian Labor Party	Middle left	10.2%	10	12.3%	13
	Eesti Rahvaerakond	Estonian People's Party	middle right	8.9%	9	7.4%	8th
	Eesti Tööliste party	Estonian Labor Party	Communist	6.2%	6th	5.8	6th
	Kristlik Rahvaerakond	Christian People's Party	Christian-conservative	4.1%	4th	5.4%	5
	Saksa-Rootsi Valimisblokk	German-Swedish electoral bloc	German-speaking and Swedish-speaking minority	3.2%	3	2.5%	3
	Majaomanikud, kaupmehed, töösturid ja teised eraomandust pooldajad	"Homeowners, merchants, industrialists and other supporters of private property"	Small business owner	2.9%	3	2.4%	2
	Vene Rahvuslik Liit Eestis	Russian National Association in Estonia	Russian-speaking minority	2.5%	2	3.3%	3

The left-wing socialist party Töölised, üürnikud, kalamehed ja väikemaapidajad ("workers, tenants, fishermen and small farmers"), which stood for election, did not receive a mandate. It failed with 1.2% of the vote at the 2 percent hurdle.

Government formation

On June 14, the third term of the Riigikogu ended . On June 29, 1929, according to parliamentary tradition, the previous coalition government under August Rei resigned.

On July 2nd, the newly elected parliament met for its opening session.

Otto Strandman of the Estonian Labor Party formed a new center-right government on July 9, 1929 . It included the Eesti Tööerakond (Estonian Labor Party, ETE), the Kristlik Rahvaerakond (Christian People's Party, KRE), the Põllumeeste Kogud (Association of Farmers, PK), the Eesti Rahvaerakond (Estonian People's Party, ER) and the Asunikud party , väikad jallupidupid riigirentnikud ("settlers, small farmers and state tenants"). She remained in office until February 1931.

Above all, the government had to fight the consequences of the severe global economic crisis , which hit Estonia hard from 1930.

Further consolidation of the Estonian party landscape

Also due to the severe economic crisis, which led to severe internal political upheavals, the Estonian party landscape was restructured during the fourth legislative period.

On October 29, 1931, the Estonian People's Party (Eesti Rahvaerakond) and the Christian People's Party (Kristlik Rahvaerakond) merged . Both parties split up in 1919 in a dispute over the role and position of the church in the democratic state.

On January 26, 1932, the two factions of the Association of Farmers (Põllumeeste Kogud) and the Association of "Settlers, Small Farmers and State Tenants" (Asunikkude, Väikepõllupidajate yes Riigirentnikkude Koondus) were united. Both parties represented the agrarian party spectrum. The official party merger was decided on at a union congress on February 29, 1932.

On January 29, 1932, the Estonian People's Party (Eesti Rahvaerakond) merged with the Estonian Labor Party (Eesti Tööerakond) to form the National Center Party (Rahvuslik Keskerakond). It was joined on February 5th by the faction of the “house owners, merchants, industrialists and other supporters of private property” (Majaomanikud, kaupmehed, töösturid ja teised eraomandust pooldajad) .

The following elections to the Estonian Parliament took place from May 21 to 23, 1932.

literature

• Sulev Vahtre (Ed.): Eesti Ajalugu. Volume 6: Vabadussõjast Taasiseseisvumiseni. Ilmamaa, Tartu 2005, ISBN 9985-77-142-7 , pp. 68-71.
• IV Riigikogu valimised, 11. – 13. maini 1929. = Elections au parlement, de 11-13 May 1929. Riigi Statistika Keskbüroo, Tallinn 1929.

Web links

• 1929 - Meie parliament ja aeg (Estonian)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ under the name Eesti Tööliste party, linna- ja maatöörahva, popside, asunikkude, rentnikkude ja kõigi kehvikute ühine nimekiri - "Joint list of the Estonian Workers' Party, the working urban and rural people, the small farmers, settlers, tenants and all proletarians"
2. ↑ compared with the election result of the German Baltic Party in Estonia
3. ↑ compared with the result of the Üleriikline Majaomanikkude Seltside Liit ja teised eraomanduse pooldajad
4. ↑ compared with the result of the Vene Rahva ühendatud nimekiri
5. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from June 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
6. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from June 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.