Estonia 1992
The Estonian Supreme Soviet’s August 20, 1991, declaration of independence established that a Constitutional Assembly should be formed to draft a new document and proposed to have the document ratified by referendum. The procedures by which the Constitutional Assembly would be formed and operate were negotiated quietly by leaders of the Supreme Soviet and the Estonian Congress, a rival quasi-legislative body which had been elected in a privately organized campaign run by ethnic Estonians on the basis of pre-1940 citizenship. These leaders agreed that each representative body, the Supreme Soviet (which changed its name to the Supreme Council) and the Estonian Congress would each elect thirty of its members to the Constitutional Assembly.
The Estonian Constitutional Assembly met in Talinn, the capital, from August 1991 to June 1992, and drafted the text that was put to referendum. Its members included ethnic Russians living in Estonia as well as ethnic Estonians who lived abroad. Following a timetable established by the Supreme Council, drafting proceeded in the group as a whole, and the initial draft was produced in about three months. Members could initially propose complete drafts as the basis for negotiation, but after basic elements were agreed, members were restricted to offering individual provisions. Voting in the assembly was via an ‘approval vote,’ coded here by its last stage rule of simple majority. Outside experts were invited to comment on the draft.
After the release of the initial draft in mid-December, public comment continued for several months. Proponents of presidentialism launched major attacks in the press, though the Constitutional Assembly resisted most anti-parliamentary reforms. Around 500 comments and recommendations were received. The Assembly agreed to one of the most widely supported proposals, changing the head of state’s title from a traditional Estonian term to ‘president,’ and compromised on the issue of direct elections to the presidency by allowing direct elections with reversion to selection by the parliament if no candidate achieved an absolute majority. The final text of the constitution was agreed on February 14, 1991, by 32 votes for, 3 against, and 6 abstained (19 members were absent).
The Supreme Council decided at this point to reassert its role in the process. Under Estonian law, its approval was required to put the draft to referendum. However, after several days of debate on possible amendments, the presidentialist Supreme Council majority voted to return the draft to the Assembly. The Assembly refused to make major changes, but did make minor terminological amendments. In late April, after several tense weeks, the Supreme Council announced the referendum date for the Assembly’s draft text, though several articles in the implementation legislation which were disliked by the Supreme Council disappeared from that document.
The new constitution was ratified on June 28, 1992, by popular referendum. Turnout was 66.3% of eligible voters; 91.2% voted for and 8.1% voted against. (The electorate consisted of both native Estonians and ethnic Russians.) The constitution entered into force on July 3, 1992, following a brief delay to validate the referendum results.