Former secretary general of Unity political party Artis Kampars categorically denies the claims from “SOAAR” manager Renārs Kadžulis about the alleged attempts to influence the 204 Saeima election results and adds that “such absurd and untrue claims can only be conjured up in a feverish nightmare.” BNN asked politologist Filips Rajevskis about his opinion of this situation.
When asked if what Kadžulis said can be considered an attempt to hammer the final nail into New Unity’s coffin, or whether it is nothing more than baseless speculation, the politologist said it’s neither.
“It’s more likely a nail for the perception of legitimacy of power. In accordance with the Constitution, sovereign power in Latvia belongs to the Latvian people, and the electoral procedure is the technical means of ensuring this power. In this situation [what Kadžulis said] casts doubt on the foundation of foundations, because it is important for people to trust the election procedure. It is on this procedure the trust in the entire system is based – the Saeima, the laws and everything the Saeima does. If, God forbid, doubts surface about the foundation of this system, a very serious crisis appears. We cannot talk about this as though it’s some speculation or something, because this is too dangerous an issue even for a speculation, especially considering the lowest levels of trust in the parliament and the government. This should be considered very seriously,” BNN was told by Filips Rajevskis.
Although Kadžulis said he reported the situation to the Constitution Protection Bureau (SAB), both SAB and the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) mentioned today they never received any applications about the possible forgery of Saeima’s election results from Kadžulis or “SOAAR”.
During his meeting with Prosecutor General Juris Stukāns on the 25th of April, President of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs invited him to investigate if state law enforcement institutions received any information about possible attempts to influence the results of Saeima elections in 2014.
Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa posted on Facebook in the morning, stating that she will request information from state security institutions, as well as ask the Prosecutor General’s Office to check the public statements and accusations.
Also read: Election scandal in Latvia: Kampars responds to accusations of political interference
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BNN ASKS | Politologist: claims about requests to falsify election results is the final “nail” for perception of legitimacy of power
