Specifications for performance of election activities in course of alteration of administrativeterritorial organisation initiated by Government of the Republic upon exercise of administrative reform

(1) The election activities necessary for alteration of administrative-territorial organisation initiated by the Government of the Republic shall be performed pursuant to the procedure provided for in this Act, the Administrative Reform Act and the Territory of Estonia Administrative Division Act, taking account of the specifications provided for in this section.

(2) Unless the local authorities have performed the election activities or adopted the relevant resolutions no later than by 15 June 2017 or unless the specified resolutions are identical, the election activities shall be performed no later than by 19 July 2017 as follows:

1) the number of the council members of a local authority to be formed upon merger shall be approved by the relevant county governor according to the number of members of the next membership stipulated in the second sentence of subsection 7 (1) and subsection 7 (2) of this Act in such way that the minimum number of the council members provided for in subsection 7 (2) corresponding to the number of residents of the local authority to be formed as a result of the merger shall be determined as the number of the council members;
2) based on the provisions of subsection 8 (5) of this Act, the relevant county governor shall form one electoral district in the territory of a new rural municipality or city to be formed upon merger, excluding the case when the alteration of administrative-territorial organisation initiated by the Government of the Republic comprises local authorities who have agreed, in the course of alteration of administrative-territorial organisation initiated
by the municipal councils, on the formation of more than one electoral district;
3) the relevant county governor shall form voting districts in the territory of a new rural municipality or city to be formed upon merger based on the voting districts formed in the rural municipalities or cities to be merged for the previous elections according to the effective regulations of the municipal administrations of the rural municipalities or cities to be merged regarding the formation of voting districts and the provisions of § 22 of this Act;
4) the relevant county governor shall appoint, based on the electoral committees formed by the councils of the local authorities to be merged, the members and up to two alternate members of the electoral committee of a rural municipality or city to be formed upon merger, pursuant to the provisions of subsection 14 (1) and subsection 17 (2) of this Act, and shall specify the location of the electoral committee.

(3) In the case specified in clause (2) 1) of this section, a number exceeding the minimum permitted number of the council members provided for in subsection 7 (2) of this Act shall be determined as the number of the council members if one of the councils of the merging local authorities has approved a larger number as the number of the council members.

(4) If the municipal councils pursuant to clause (2) 2) of this section have agreed on the formation of several electoral districts, the county governor shall form separate electoral districts in the territory of the relevant merging local authorities.

(5) The rural municipality or city electoral committee shall appoint the members and alternate members of a voting district committee pursuant to the provisions of § 23 of this Act. In such case, the resolutions of the council provided for in § 23 shall be adopted by a rural municipality or city electoral committee and the acts of a rural municipality or city secretary shall be performed by the chairman of a rural municipality or city electoral committee.

(6) Clerical support to a rural municipality or city electoral committee and voting district committee shall be provided by the county government.

(7) Expenses of a rural municipality or city electoral committee and voting district committee, which are related to the organisation of elections, shall be covered pursuant to the procedure established on the basis of subsection 58 (3) of the State Budget Act.

(8) The provisions of subsections (2)‒C0#3F(4) of this section shall also apply upon alteration of administrative-territorial organisation of the rural municipalities and cities at the initiative of the municipal council specified in Chapter 2 of the Administrative Reform Act, unless local authorities have performed the election activities or adopted the relevant resolutions by the date specified in subsection (2) of this section or unless the specified resolutions are identical.
[RT I, 21.06.2016, 1 - entry into force 01.01.2017]