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Conservatives Win Estonian Parliamentary Election

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Estonia's center-right Reform Party has narrowly won Sunday's parliamentary elections with Prime Minister Andrus Ansip predicting tough talks on forming another coalition government.

Official results give the Reform Party 31 seats in the 101-seat parliament. Its current coalition partner - the leftist Center Party - will have 29 seats.

Another conservative party, Pro-Patria and Res Political Union, won 19 seats.

Mr. Ansip calls the election a good and overwhelming victory for the right. But he said upcoming talks on forming a new coalition government could take a while.

None of the two Russian-speaking parties won enough votes Sunday to take seats in parliament. Many Russian-speaking Estonians complain of discrimination.

Estonian resentment over what many say was a 50-year Soviet occupation of the Baltics still simmers.

The election was notable for being the world's first official parliamentary election in which voters could cast ballots through the Internet. Authorities say 30,000 ballots were cast by computer during a special three-day voting period last week.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

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