Election of the President of the Republic in 1996
Election in the Riigikogu
The first round of voting took place on 26 August 1996.
After counting the votes of the first round, the National Electoral Committee ascertained the following numbers:
| 1. Members of the Riigikogu entered in the list of electors | 101 |
| 2. Members of the Riigikogu who received a ballot paper | 97 |
| 3. Members of the Riigikogu who participated in the voting | 95 |
| 4. Invalid ballot papers | 2 |
| 5. Unmarked ballot papers (no box marked with a cross) | 14 |
| Candidate | Votes |
| Lennart-Georg Meri | 45 |
| Arnold Rüütel | 34 |
As none of the candidates received the support of two thirds of the Riigikogu, the second round of voting was organised. Before the second round of voting, new candidates were nominated.
The second round of voting took place on 27 August 1996.
After counting the votes of the second round, the National Electoral Committee ascertained the following numbers:
| 1. Members of the Riigikogu entered in the list of electors | 101 |
| 2. Members of the Riigikogu who received a ballot paper | 98 |
| 3. Members of the Riigikogu who participated in the voting | 96 |
| 4. Invalid ballot papers | 1 |
| 5. Unmarked ballot papers (no box marked with a cross) | 12 |
| Candidate | Votes |
| Lennart-Georg Meri | 49 |
| Arnold Rüütel | 34 |
The third round of voting was held on 27 August 1996.
After counting the votes of the third round, the National Electoral Committee ascertained the following numbers:
| 1. Members of the Riigikogu entered in the list of electors | 101 |
| 2. Members of the Riigikogu who received a ballot paper | 98 |
| 3. Members of the Riigikogu who participated in the voting | 96 |
| 4. Invalid ballot papers | 1 |
| 5. Unmarked ballot papers (no box marked with a cross) | 11 |
| Candidate | Votes |
| Lennart-Georg Meri | 52 |
| Arnold Rüütel | 32 |
As none of the candidates received the required two thirds majority in the Riigikogu, the President of the Riigikogu convened the electoral body. The election of the President of the Republic in the electoral body was set for 20 September 1996.
Voting in the electoral body
The first round of voting in the electoral body took place on 20 September in the Estonia Concert Hall.
After counting the votes of the first round, the National Electoral Committee ascertained the following numbers:
| 1. Number of members of the electoral body entered in the list of electors | 374 |
| 2. Number of members of the electoral body who received a ballot paper | 372 |
| 3. Number of members of the electoral body who participated in the voting | 372 |
| 4. Invalid ballot papers | 0 |
| 5. Unmarked ballot papers (no box marked with a cross) | 0 |
| Candidate | Votes |
| Tunne-Väldo Kelam | 76 |
| Lennart-Georg Meri | 139 |
| Siiri Oviir | 25 |
| Arnold Rüütel | 85 |
| Enn Tõugu | 47 |
As no candidate received the required majority, a second round of voting was held on the same day.
After counting the votes of the second round, the National Electoral Committee ascertained the following numbers:
| 1. Number of members of the electoral body entered in the list of electors | 374 |
| 2. Number of members of the electoral body who received a ballot paper | 372 |
| 3. Number of members of the electoral body who participated in the voting | 372 |
| 4. Invalid ballot papers | 6 |
| 5. Unmarked ballot papers (no box marked with a cross) | 44 |
| Candidate | Votes |
| Lennart-Georg Meri | 196 |
| Arnold Rüütel | 126 |
Lennart-Georg Meri received over 50% of the votes of the members of the electoral body who participated in the voting, and was thus elected the President of the Republic.