Latvia’s Central Election Commission (CVK) reports that on Thursday, the 3rd of August, the institution decided to register Harmony political party’s clarified amendment project for the Constitution. The party’s suggested amendments provides for the election of the President of the State through direct elections by citizens of Latvia.
No other amendments – such as expansion of the president’s authority – are suggested by the party.
Latvian voters will be able to sign this project for the next twelve months.
For a referendum to be held, it is necessary to collect signatures from no less than one-tenth of the number of Latvian citizens who voted in the last Saeima elections. During 14th Saeima elections there were more than one and a half million of them (~916 594 citizens participated, which is ~59.43% of citizens with voting rights).
When making the decision to register the Constitution amendment project to start collecting signatures, CVK members assessed whether the submitter complies with the requirements of the Law on Referendum, Initiation of Laws and European Citizens’ Initiatives – namely, whether it is a legally established and registered political party or an association of political parties, as well as whether the revised draft amendments to the Constitution have been fully developed in terms of form and content.
Latvian citizens 18 or older have the right to participate in signature collection. Citizens are able to use www.latvija.lv or by certifying the signature to a sworn notary, at the place of declaration of the place of residence in the municipality, in the Orphan’s and Custody Court, which performs notarial activities, or in the county under the parish or the head of the city administration.
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