The offering of a financial advantage in exchange for the resignation of a seat in parliament
ECPRD Request No 6116
July 3, 2025
Dear colleagues,
I am pleased to inform you that, to our knowledge, the issue in question has not arisen in
Estonia, and no such cases have come to public attention.
In any case, a member of the Riigikogu cannot be forced to resign from their seat in Parliament.
The principle of the free mandate is based on § 62 of the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia,
which states that a member of the Riigikogu shall not be bound by his or her mandate.
The Constitution of the Republic of Estonia–Riigi Teataja
This principle is further elaborated in § 17 of the Status of Members of the Riigikogu Act:
Status of Members of the Riigikogu Act–Riigi Teataja
§ 17. Free mandate
(1) Members of the Riigikogu are independent. They perform the duties of representing the
people in accordance with the Constitution, laws, public interests, and their conscience.
(2) No member of the Riigikogu may be obligated to resign from the Riigikogu.
Thus, according to subsection 1 of § 17, Members of the Riigikogu are independent; they perform
the duties of representing the people in accordance with the Constitution, laws, public interests,
and their conscience.
The principle of the free mandate also excludes the possibility of recalling a member of the
Riigikogu. As stated in subsection 2 of § 17, a member of the Riigikogu may not be obligated to
resign. For example, voters have the opportunity to express their assessment of a member’s
performance in the next parliamentary elections.
Best regards,
Siiri Sillajõe
Deputy Head
Legal and Research Department
Chancellery of the Riigikogu
Estonia