Daniel Mereäär, a candidate for Riigikogu, has demanded that the court address the incorrect reading of e-votes. He participated in the 2023 Riigikogu elections and complained to the Tallinn District Court on June 6.
The complaint aims to instigate criminal proceedings concerning the improper reading of e-votes, as stipulated in Section 163 of the Penal Code, to investigate why the legislation on e-votes was not adhered to in meeting the election’s requirements. The complaint pertains to invalid digital signatures of digital containers of e-votes and the absence of a region code in the opening text of the votes. According to the law, these discrepancies should have rendered 312,181 e-votes invalid.
Despite over a year passing since the elections, significant questions about the deficiencies of e-elections still need to be answered. For instance, the Estonian Supreme Court has explicitly stated that the absence of a region code in the e-vote deems it invalid. In the 2023 election, none of the e-votes had a valid precinct code, yet they were counted as valid. On the surface, the situation appears straightforward: the current law stipulates that an e-vote must contain a region code.
In the 2023 election, none of the e-votes had a valid region code. The Supreme Court has previously declared e-voting invalid without a district code. However, the District Prosecutor’s Office concluded it was not a violation and did not initiate criminal proceedings. They argued that in the Riigikogu elections, the region code for e-votes is “by agreement,” a number that does not correspond to any region.
Who reached this agreement, and how can someone with such an agreement alter legislation? The response of the District Prosecutor’s Office could have been more precise. Requests based on similar grounds have often been left unaddressed for various procedural reasons without delving into the substance of the matter. This has also been the case with this matter.
The State Prosecutor’s Office can challenge the lack of initiation of criminal proceedings, but only the victim can do so. The complaint submitted by Daniel Mereäär to the State Prosecutor’s Office was rejected because, according to them, he is not considered a victim in this scenario. In the 2023 elections, Daniel Mereäär was not elected to the Riigikogu. However, if the e-votes had been invalidated due to deficiencies, he would currently be a member of the Riigikogu. Nevertheless, losing the Riigikogu mandate was not a compelling enough reason to classify him as a victim.
On 06.06.2024, Daniel Mereäär’s lawyer, Märt Mürk, submitted his complaint, which the State Prosecutor’s Office left unanswered, to the Tallinn District Court. Daniel Mereäär hopes that the district court will thoroughly address the issue, providing more clarity on the legality of Internet elections. Daniel Mereäär collaborates with the NGO Conservative Estonia (Mike Calamus) in contesting e-elections. In the District Court, the Riigikogu candidate is represented by lawyer Märt Mürk from EmeraldLegal.