Estonian Constituent Assembly

Estonian parliamentary election, 1919

← 1917 7 April 1919 1920 →
120 seats in the Constituent Assembly 61 seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader August Rei Otto August Strandman Jaan Tõnisson Party Social Democratic Workers' Labour Party People's Party Last election 9 seats 4 seats 7 seats Seats won 41 30 25 Seat change +32 (+16.2%) +26 (+17.3%) +18 (+7.6%) Popular vote 152,341 114,879 94,892 Percentage 32.6% 24.6% 20.3%
Prime Minister of the Provisional Government before election Konstantin Päts Country People's Union Elected Prime Minister Otto August Strandman Labour Party

Konstantin Päts
Country People's Union

Otto August Strandman
Labour Party

The Estonian Constituent Assembly (Estonian: Asutav kogu) was elected on 5–7 April 1919, called by the Estonian Provisional Government during the Estonian War of Independence. The Assembly was elected by party-list proportional representation in one nationwide district using the D'Hondt method. Eligible voters included soldiers at the front. The elections were won by left-wing and centrist parties.

The 120 members of the Constituent Assembly met at the opening session on 23 April 1919, the birthday of the Estonian Parliament and elected the chairman, Social Democrat August Rei. On 7 May the Assembly passed the Public Elementary Schools Act: The principle of compulsory and free primary 6-year elementary school education was established.

On 8 May 1919 the Estonian provisional government resigned, and the first fully democratically elected Government of Estonia headed by Prime Minister Otto Strandman (Estonian Labor Party) took office. On 15 May the assembly reaffirmed the Estonian Declaration of Independence, aimed at the international community for recognizing Estonia as an independent state.

On 4 June 1919 the Assembly adopted a temporary Constitution of Estonia, and on 10 October 1919 The Land Reform Act was passed which confiscated and redistributed the Baltic German estates, ending the 700 years possession of the regions that the Germans had gained after the Livonian Crusade.

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