Elections to the Supreme Soviet were held in the Estonian SSR on 18 March 1990, the first free parliamentary election in Estonia since 1932. A total of 105 deputies were elected, of which four were from military districts. Altogether 392 candidates competed for seats in the Soviet. The opposition pro-independence Popular Front won the plurality of the seats. The anti-independence "Joint Council of Work Collectives", representing mostly the Russian-speaking minority in Estonia, as well as the reformed communists, who favored independence but close relations with the USSR, both gained around 25 seats. During its first session, the new Supreme Soviet elected the former Communist Party member Arnold Rüütel as its chairman, allowing him to stay as the leader of Estonia.