Latvia should review existing referendum initiation conditions, stressed Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs, who met with heads of Saeima factions at the Castle of Riga on Friday, the 31st of January.
Mārtiņš Drēģeris, advisor to the President, reports that sides discussed tasks planned for the first half of the year, as well as the growing public distrust towards state institutions.
Rinkēvičs noted that, at present, confusion and legitimate questions about the actions and effectiveness of state authorities are appearing in society. The repeated lack of a quorum in the Saeima, the refusal of the legislator to audit the expenditures of the parliament, the disproportionately large share of remote work in the public administration, the rejected proposal providing for criminal liability for the implementation of prohibited agreements in public procurement, the slow work on reducing bureaucracy, as well as the process of selecting a candidate for the President of the Bank of Latvia. These are just several examples.
The President of Latvia added he has spoken with Saeima faction representatives about the need to review the conditions for referendum initiation in cases that would not affect the foundations of the Constitution or the core and aspects of the established constitutional identity.
Rinkēvičs also listened to the heads of Saeima factions. On the 17th of February the President of Latvia plans a repeat meeting with representatives of the Saeima factions, inviting constitutional law experts to a joint conversation. After this consultation, he will submit legislative initiatives.
New Unity’s Saeima faction leader Edmunds Jurēvics told LETA that, in his personal opinion, a discussion of the question raised by the President is necessary. He also said lowering the threshold could serve as a tool for populism, so it is necessary to listen to different opinions.
Leader of the Saeima faction of the Union of Greens and Farmers Harijs Rokpelnis said he is negative towards this issue, adding that lowering the threshold could be used by different populist forces, considering that signatures can be collected fairly quickly using various platforms, and these signatures can later be used for various political plots.
Nevertheless, he also said his party is open to discussions.
LETA previously reported that Rinkēvičs has plans to propose lowering the threshold for the initiation of referendums. The president said he plans to submit this initiative in the coming months.
The politician explained that, according to his intention, a reduced threshold could not be used in matters affecting the core of the Constitution. There, in his opinion, the thresholds are adequate.
For the collection of signatures to be considered successful, the initiative must be signed by at least 10% of the population, or approximately 150 000 Latvian citizens over the age of 18.