There must be no political influence over the Central Election Commission (CVK) even after the proposed decision for the provision of administrative and technical support from other state institutions, said CVK Chief Kristīne Saulīte in an interview.
When asked if the State Chancellery (VK) could provide supervisory and administrative support to CVK in the future, Saulīte explained that talks are already underway and that the Saeima Public Administration and Local Government Committee and the parliament have yet to list their opinions on this.
“The conversation is not held with us directly. We only know that is announced, specifically that PM Krišjānis Kariņš has ordered Ministry of Justice to develop necessary legislative amendments, which could be completed by October,”
said the head of CVK.
She mentioned that the process commenced following the suggestion from President Egils Levits – that CVK should be supervised by some other institution. “In many countries institutions similar to CVK are subordinated to the Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Justice or some other institution. There are different options available,” said Saulīte.
The chief of CVK referenced what public administration experts mentioned at a recent seminar – that CVK is an independent institution that shares certain competence with other institutions.
“These can include IT topics or security topics. This could be a solution, to make CVK an independent institution but with shared competence in certain fields,”
said Saulīte.
When asked about concerns in the opposition, that the State Chancellery is under the prime minister, which could imply at least some influence over CVK as well, Saulīte put concerns to rest.
“I have stressed from the very beginning that CVK is an institution that cannot be under any political influence. In any way,”
she stressed.
Saulīte added that CVK is an institution that needs to perform its function “regardless of political wind, regardless of who is in the government and regardless of the coalition of the opposition”.
The chief of the institution stressed that voters have earned an honestly and transparently working CVK. This is why it is necessary to ensure its independence.
Also read: OPINION | Latvian PM’s old tactic won’t work any more, says Conservative Party leader