Constitutional Committee Sends Political Parties Act to Parliament

The Parliament's Constitutional Committee has finished debating amendments to the Political Parties Act, including those proposed by the grassroots People's Assembly at the beginning of the year.

“In one form or another, all the People's Assembly suggestions will be carried out,” Rait Maruste, the chairman of the committee, told ERR radio on Monday.

The amendments include increasing financial support for parties who do not pass the threshold needed to be elected to Parliament and lowering the electoral deposits required for registering as a candidate.

Financial accounting rules will also be tightened up, with parties asked to submit reports more frequently.

Indrek Saar of the Social Democrats said the amendments do not go far enough as smaller parties should receive an even larger piece of state funding for parties.

IRL MP Mart Nutt said the new bill is the best possible compromise.

The first reading in Parliament is set to take place on October 22, two days after the local elections.

The People's Assembly is a project initiated by the President that recruited members of the public to weigh in on reforms in light of the 2012 political turmoil.

http://news.err.ee/politics/7df70860-ea90-4d72-bafd-a12a403679dc

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