Isamaa sees decline in membership following Riigikogu election - ERR
18 Mar 2019 EWR Online
Isamaa chairman Helir-Valdor Seeder (centre) with Prime Minister and Centre Party chairman Jüri Ratas (left). Source: Siim Lõvi/ERR
Changes in the membership numbers of Estonia's various political parties two weeks after the 2019 Riigikogu elections indicate that the call of a now-ex member of Isamaa to leave the party did not fall on deaf ears, daily Postimees reports.
In reviewing the numbers of people joining and leaving political parties since the beginning of 2018, the only parties successfully recruiting new members are the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) and the Centre Party; the number of people joining all other parties fall manyfold short in comparison.
In a year and just over three months, more than 1,000 people have joined EKRE, while 760 have joined the Centre Party.
The numbers indicate that Centre lost members at exactly the same pace, however, one reason for which was events in Narva last autumn in connection with which more than 100 members quit the party within a short period of time.
600 members also quit EKRE within the same period of time. As new members are joining at a faster pace than previous members are leaving, it can be assumed that a change in membership is taking place within EKRE's ranks, with members of the former People's Union of Estonia (Eestimaa Rahvaliit) being replaced.
