Estonia opposition defeats ruling center in general elections

The opposition center-right Reform party has won Estonia's general election, beating the ruling Centre.

Reform, led by former MEP Kaja Kallas, took about 29% of the vote to 23% for Centre in Sunday's ballot.

Meanwhile, the far-right Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE), which has called for a referendum on EU membership, came a close third.

Following Reform's win, party leader Kaja Kallas is set to become the country's first female prime minister, although she will first have to tackle difficult negotiations to form a governing coalition.

Most opinion polls since late last year had put Centre in front, although recent surveys had indicated a tight race, with some suggesting pro-business Reform could pull ahead.

Estonia's president is due to nominate the candidate for prime minister in coming days, after which the nominee will then begin negotiations to form a coalition as all parties fell well short of winning a majority.

Kallas looks likely to face a difficult task in hammering out a coalition government in a 101-seat parliament where all other parties have ruled out governing with the far-right EKRE.

Kallas repeated that she ruled out governing with EKRE but was open to any other potential tie-ups.

"We keep all the options open for a coalition," she said. Estonia enjoys strong economic growth and low unemployment, but regional differences in the country of just 1.3 million people are vast.

Nearly a quarter of Estonia's 881,000 eligible voters cast their ballots by e-voting. Results from e-voting gave Reform an even higher score.

Estonia uses proportional representation to pick members in its 101-seat parliament.

The decisive result came despite opinion polls suggesting in advance that the vote would be tight.

Reform and Centre have alternated in power since Estonia's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

The two main parties support continued austerity policies, which have left Estonia with the lowest debt level of any Eurozone country but have caused anger in rural communities who feel left behind.

The conservative Isamaa party and the Social Democrats - currently in the governing coalition with the Centre party - won 11.4% and 9.8% respectively.