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MAY 31, 2011 by Karina Pētersone Director of Latvian Institute

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MAY 31, 2011 by Karina Pētersone Director of Latvian Institute LATVIAN INSTITUTE FACTSHEET NO 4 MAY 31, 2011 LATVIAN PRESIDENT INITIATES DISSOLUTION OF THE PARLIAMENT By Karina Pētersone Director of Latvian Institute Presidents’ Initiative Latvian President Valdis Zatlers initiated the dissolution of the parliament in an address to the nation Saturday, May 28, in the evening. President Zatlers took this historical decision on the brink of presidential elections to be held this Thursday, June 2, by the Latvian Parliament (Saeima), after his 4 years in office. President Valdis Zatlers decided to initiate the dissolution of the current parliament on Saturday, following meetings with parliament speaker Solvita Aboltina, Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis and Prosecutor General Eriks Kalnmeiers earlier in the day with an aim to discuss the situation in Latvia. The President’s Chancellery has stated in a briefing held for resident foreign diplomats that the president’s decision was caused by several considerations. First, the last parliamentary vote on denying the search of MP Slesers’ home was proof of a conflict between two pillars of power – the legislator and the judiciary. In this case only the sovereign –the people can act as an arbiter. Second, the parliamentarians’ political responsibility has to be borne not once in four years, but during the whole term of office. And the people need to express their opinion on the gravity of their deed. And third, the president was concerned about the influence of non-elected people upon decisions taken by the government and the parliament. The impossibility to reshuffle the parties forming the government within the existing arrangement of political forces in the parliament, as confirmed by the prime minister and the speaker, was likely to keep the decision makers from real change in their habits. In his address, broadcast live on public television and radio, the president announced his decision to initiate the dissolution of the parliament, based on Article 48 of the Latvian Constitution, which stipulates that the President of the State has the right to propose the dissolution of the parliament, which is to be followed by a national referendum. „I have decided to take a radical step. This decision, on the eve of the presidential election, is personally difficult for me, and it is also constitutionally complicated. I clearly understand that my decision may eliminate any chance for me to be re-elected to the presidency. And yet I have taken the oath of office, which says that I must devote all of my efforts toward the benefits of Latvia and her people. My duty is to work on behalf of the interests of state, not on my own behalf. With this decision I want to create opportunities for every single person in Latvia. First of all, let us finally bring an end to the all-permissiveness of a narrow group of people. Let us bring an end to the situation in which the wealth that we have all accumulated with such hard work is found in the accounts of offshore companies.” the president said in his address. 1 „(...) the main job [of the parliament] was to get rid of the immoral behaviour that was the foundation for the great gap in trust which existed between the public and the 9th Saeima. We needed to get rid of the root of evil which separates those who are in power from the rest of our society. Last Thursday, alas, the Saeima took a vote which like an alarm warns us of a serious conflict between the legislative and judicial branches of government – two of the three branches upon which our state is based. The Saeima demonstrated lack of respect and trust in the competence of the judicial system, and that, sadly, was not the first time. During the 9th session of the Saeima, the legislature failed to approve a judge whose professional development had been appreciated in the judicial system. The legislature refused to approve a prosecutor-general who was nominated by the highest official in the judicial system – the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. This Saeima, too, sent early signals to show that morality and immorality have been inherited.” the president stated. “Other immorality has also been inherited. We saw politicians bargaining over jobs – engaging in a passionate struggle over jobs instead of thinking about the country and its economic development. Jobs were handed over to buddies, as has always been the case. The Saeima showed on more than one occasion that it defends the personal interests of narrow groups or even specific individuals – not the interests of the state... We see that the government, which should be able to take decisions about the future of the country and the processes that would develop Latvia and raise its welfare, instead, sadly enough, looks at what a man outside of the Saeima says, even though the situation should be one which the government is run by the prime minister, and the government is responsible before the Saeima.” Zatlers said. "Have there been any successes? Our country has had a success. In the past three years we miraculously coped with the economic crisis. We are a role model -- a role model of action, of results. But let's face it -- this crisis was overcome thanks to the Latvian people. The question is – in the name of what were these sacrifices borne? Was it really to raise oligarchs' profits, to let them embezzle public funds, to let the rule of law become a meaningless slogan?” the president asked rhetorically. Appearing on Latvia's LNT commercial TV channel on Sunday night, Zatlers said he had also considered dismissing the Dombrovskis-led Cabinet as an option. "I can assert that I made this decision yesterday, following meetings with the parliament speaker, the prime minister and the prosecutor general. Our conversations dealt with only one subject: The situation in the country and a possible solution. After these conversations I took the decision to initiate the dissolution of the parliament," Zatlers said. "I asked the officials simple questions -- what solution they saw to the situation that had arisen from the failure to strip [MP] Slesers of lawmakers' immunity, and whether they saw any political alternative to the current government, whether they saw any way for the parliament to change the situation where the parliament's reputation has been damaged so severely," said Zatlers. The president claimed he had no additional information at his disposal apart from what has been made known to the public already. The president said that the resignation of the Dombrovskis-led government was also considered as an option, but that both Aboltina and Dombrovskis said that the forming of a new coalition would not be possible. "This was one of the options. Neither the parliament speaker, nor the premier could elaborate on their position, but they said a clear "no". No, we do not have a possibility to form a new government with this parliament. So, if this is the situation with the parliament, a new mandate from voters is needed," Zatlers explained. 2 The Legal Framework Zatlers' decree initiating the dissolution of the current parliament means that a referendum on the issue has to take place within the next two months. If the referendum approves the president's move, the next general election also has to be organized within one to two months, and the new parliament would then have a month to convene for its first session. Thus, the whole process should take no more than five months. Arnis Cimdars, chairman of the Latvian Central Election Commission, projected that the referendum might be held on July 23, 2011. A referendum on the dissolution of Latvia's current parliament will take place on July 23, the Central Election Commission decided unanimously on Monday. The commission's chairman Arnis Cimdars explained that the commission chose the farthest possible date so that it can complete all the necessary preparations in line with the procedure, which also includes providing voters in foreign countries with an opportunity to take part in the referendum, including by voting by mail. Latvian citizens will be able to take part in the referendum in any of the polling stations organized in Latvia or abroad but they would need a valid passport. The question on the voting slips in the referendum will be: „Do you support dissolution of the parliament?” and there will be two answers – Yes and No. No envelopes are used for voting in case of a referendum therefore voters will be given only the voting slips stamped by the polling station in question. June 30, which was initially named as the likely date for the referendum, falls outside the two- month timeframe for holding such a vote, because President Valdis Zatlers' decree calling for the dissolution of the parliament was published in the official newspaper Latvijas Vestnesis already last Sunday, May 29, explained Cimdars. Other dates, for instance, July 9 or July 16, were also proposed for holding the referendum at Monday's meeting of the Central Election Commission, because many people choose end of July for their annual vacations. This consideration, however, was not recognized as significant enough. The referendum will cost an estimated two million lats (EUR 2.8 mln), said Cimdars. Roughly the same amount will be required to organize extraordinary general elections, if people voted in support of dissolution of the current parliament. Under the Latvian Constitution, if more than a half of voters in the referendum supported dissolution of the parliament, the parliament will be dismissed and new general elections will have to be held no later than two months after the dismissal of the previous parliament. It means that the extraordinary elections might take place around September 17, Cimdars said.
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