Estonia's major administrative divisions are 15 counties (maakond). The counties are further subdivided into communes (vald) and 241 municipalities (202 rural and 39 urban).
While only citizens are allowed to vote in Estonia's national elections, residents of Estonia, including non-citizens, are allowed to vote in local elections. Non-citizens, however, cannot be candidates in local (or national) elections. The last local elections were held on 20 October 2002; 3,273 seats were decided, and office-holders serve three-year terms.