At the beginning of September, the Riigikogu will elect a new President of the Republic. If the Riigikogu fails to elect the President, the President will be elected by the electoral body. The President of the Republic shall be elected for a term of five years.

The extraordinary session of the Riigikogu for the election of the President of the Republic will be held on 2 September 2026 at 12:00. 

Registration of candidates

The presentation of candidates for registration begins on the 12th day before the day the first round of voting is held in the Riigikogu,  that is, on Friday, 21 August at 9:00 a.m. The right to nominate a candidate rests with not less than one-fifth of all members of the Riigikogu. A member of the Riigikogu may nominate only one candidate. 

Candidates can be submitted for registration until 6 p.m on Monday, 24 August. The National Electoral Committee will meet on Tuesday, 25 August at 15:00 to register the candidates.

Voting in the Riigikogu

The President of the Republic is elected by secret ballot, where each member of the Riigikogu has one vote. The candidate who receives a two-thirds majority in the Riigikogu is considered elected; this means the support of at least 68 members of the Riigikogu.

The first round of the election of the President of the Republic will be held in the Riigikogu on Wednesday, 2 September at 12:00. 

Each candidate will give a speech of up to 10 minutes before the first round of voting. If no candidate receives the required majority, a new round of voting will be held the next day, Thursday, 3 September, at 12 p.m. Before the second round of voting, there will be a new nomination of candidates. The nomination of candidates will take place from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Each candidate will also give a speech of up to 10 minutes before the second round of voting. If no candidate receives the required majority in the second round, a third round will be held on the same day, 3 September, at 16:00, between the two candidates who received the most votes in the second round. A two-thirds majority is required to be elected.

If the President of the Republic is still not elected in the third round of voting, the President of the Riigikogu convenes an electoral body within one month.

Electoral body

The electoral body is formed of the members of the Riigikogu (who number 101), and representatives of the local government councils (107). The number of representatives of local governments in the electoral body depends on the current administrative borders and the number of citizens with the right to vote who reside in the rural municipality or city. The electoral body has a total of 208 members.

It takes at least 21 members of the electoral body to nominate a candidate.  Each member of the electoral body may nominate only one candidate.

For the first round of voting, the names of the candidates who participated in the third round of voting in the Riigikogu, and the candidates who are registered for the first round of voting in the electoral body are entered on the ballot paper.

All candidates will give a speech of up to 10 minutes before the first voting round.

A candidate is considered elected in the first round of voting if a majority of the members of the electoral body who participate in the voting vote in their favour. If no candidate receives the required majority, a second round of voting is held on the same day.
For the second round of voting, the names of the two candidates who received the most votes in the first round are entered on the ballot paper. The candidate who receives the majority vote of the participating members of the electoral body is considered elected.

If no candidate receives the required majority, an extraordinary election of the President of the Republic is held in the Riigikogu within fourteen days.

Assumption of office

The new President of the Republic is likely sworn in on 12 October 2026.

The President of the Republic assumes office by swearing the following oath of office to the people of Estonia before the Riigikogu:

“In assuming the office of the President of the Republic, I (given name and surname), solemnly swear to steadfastly defend the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Estonia, to exercise the power entrusted to me in a just and impartial manner, and to faithfully perform my duties with all of my abilities and to the best of my understanding, for the benefit of the people of Estonia and the Republic of Estonia.”