On 27 October Latvia’s Saeima passed in the final reading amendments that provide for annulling the mandate of members of the European Parliament elected from Latvia if said MEP is found guilty of a criminal act.
According to the annotation of amendments, the objective is to establish the same legislative regulations for MEPs as the one for Saeima deputies.
Previously it was stated in the law that
a mandate of the member of the European Parliament is incompatible with persons found guilty of a crime of a specific category.
The law mentions that persons found guilty of a severe or especially sever crime in the Republic of Latvia and whose criminal record is not eraced, except if a person is rehabilitated, is not allowed to run in elections for a seat in the European Parliament.
Amendments to the law also state, that a person who served in USSR, Latvian SSR security, intelligence or counter-intelligence service (except for persons who were employed in administrative, planning and financial offices of these structures) are not allowed to run as candidates in European Parliament elections.
On top of that this will also apply to persons who were members of the PSKP (GCP), the Latvian SSR Workers’ International Front, the Joint Council of Labour Collectives, the War and Labour Veterans Organisation, the Latvian Public Rescue Committee or its regional committees after 13 January 1991.