Citizens of Estonia will in the future be able to vote in elections by mobile phone, after yesterday the parliament in Tallinn approved the relevant bill submitted by the government of the Baltic member state of the EU and NATO, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
According to the legal text, electronic voting will be possible not only on computers, but also through special applications for the common operating systems of mobile devices.
Technical requirements are determined by the electoral commission before each election.
The change in the law is due to come into force in October and will not be able to be used for the European Parliament elections in June.
According to the Estonian Minister of Economy and Information Technology Tit Riisalo, the new regulation aims to take into account the change in the consumer behavior of citizens.
„A significant part of people's daily digital activities have shifted from computers to smart devices, and e-Estonia must be accessible to everyone on these new and widespread platforms,” said the minister.
In 2005, Estonia became the first country in Europe to allow online voting in elections.
Internationally, the procedure is controversial in many places due to doubts about its reliability.
In the Baltic republic, which likes to call itself e-Estonia, it prevailed – more than half of all votes were cast digitally in the March 2023 parliamentary elections.
1.2 million citizens of the Baltic Republic can do almost everything online in their everyday life. Estonia is considered a pioneer in digitization and e-government in Europe.