Estonia Orders Nationalist Party To Translate Russian Campaign Ads Into Estonian - Reports

The Estonian Language Inspectorate has ordered Martin Helme, the chairman of the Conservative People's Party (EKRE), to add Estonian translations to their Russian-language campaign materials ahead of the municipal elections, Estonian broadcaster ERR reported on Wednesday

HELSINKI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th September, 2021) The Estonian Language Inspectorate has ordered Martin Helme, the chairman of the Conservative People's Party (EKRE), to add Estonian translations to their Russian-language campaign materials ahead of the municipal elections, Estonian broadcaster ERR reported on Wednesday.

The department has reportedly detected violations of the language law by the party in the city of Narva, where its election posters contained only Russian text.

EKRE has never before translated its campaign materials into Russian on principle, stressing that all Russian-speaking nationals should know the Estonian language. However, on the eve of the October 17 elections, the party decided to conduct a campaign in Narva and other cities of the northeastern Ida-Viru county, populated mostly by Russian-speaking residents, and present its electoral list.

The language watchdog noticed 14 EKRE posters with only Russian text, and its employees have already helped the party translate them, according to the report. The nationalist party will now have either to provide Estonian translations for all posters within the next three days or remove them, the Language Inspectorate's chief, Ilmar Tomusk, wrote in a letter to Helme, as cited in the report.

If EKRE fails to meet the deadline, the Inspectorate will be eligible to fine it up to 800 Euros ($930), Tomusk told the broadcaster.

The Conservative People's Party, founded in 2012, is known for its nationalist rhetoric, xenophobic and anti-Semitic statements, as well as controversial statements about the Russian-speaking population of Estonia.