The opposition party United List (Apvienotais saraksts, AS) has prepared a draft law proposing to reduce state budget funding for political parties for a period of five years.
In 2024, amendments to the Law on Financing of Political Organizations (Parties) entered into force, freezing state funding for political parties for one year. In 2025, the state budget funding for political organizations (parties) was calculated and granted based on the 2024 minimum monthly wage. In 2024, the minimum monthly wage in Latvia was 700 euros.
According to the law, political parties that received more than two percent of votes in the last parliamentary elections are granted state budget funding in the amount of 0.9% of the minimum monthly wage for each vote obtained in the most recent parliamentary elections, 0.1% of the minimum monthly wage for each vote obtained in the most recent municipal elections, and 0.1% of the minimum monthly wage for each vote obtained in the most recent European Parliament elections.
Meanwhile, the draft law prepared by United List stipulates that from 2026 to 2030, the calculation and allocation of state budget funding for political parties shall be based on the 2023 minimum monthly wage. In 2023, the minimum monthly wage in Latvia was 620 euros.
United List estimates that
as a result, the total funding for political parties in 2026 would decrease by 13%, or 1.624 million euros.
This funding could be redirected to national security, healthcare, education, welfare, and other needs, United List points out.
The draft law also provides for the introduction of new transparency requirements. The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) would be required, within ten days after receiving political parties’ annual reports or election declarations, to make public the information contained therein about how political parties have spent state budget funding for the purchase of goods and services — specifying from whom and at what price procurements were made. The information would be published both in the official gazette Latvijas Vēstnesis and on the KNAB website.
The news agency LETA has already reported that United List has pledged to call for a significant reduction in state funding for political parties. The head of the United List parliamentary faction, Edgars Tavars, previously told LETA that it is unacceptable that political organizations receive disproportionately large funding, and that this applies to all parties, including his own political force.
Tavars emphasized the need to make the use of party funding transparent so that society can quickly see what contracts are concluded, what employees are hired, what services are purchased, and what experts are engaged. In his view, such information should be made available not with delays but within a few days, while maintaining a reasonable balance between transparency and data protection.
According to information provided by the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau,
this year state funding is being paid to 13 political parties,
with a total allocation of 6.63 million euros. Among them, New Unity receives 1.12 million euros, the Union of Greens and Farmers receives just under 0.9 million euros, and the United List receives more than 0.8 million euros.
At the beginning of July, when asked in an interview with TV3 whether state funding for political parties should be reduced under current austerity conditions, Prime Minister Evika Siliņa (New Unity) replied that “this is not the only resource.” According to Siliņa, Latvia cannot afford to end up in a situation where political parties are again forced to seek private funding and come under the influence of a limited group of individuals. The current situation, she said, ensures greater democracy.
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