The referendum to repeal the partnership institute in Latvia is unlikely to happen, said the chairperson of the Central Election Commission (CVK) Kristīne Saulīte mentioned in an interview to TV3 programme 900 seconds.
She did not mention any numbers as to the signatures collected so far – this information needs compiling first. Nevertheless, looking at the activity so far, Saulīte said that it is unlikely the referendum on the repeal of the partnership institute will happen, as there are too few signatures collected so far.
Because of the high costs of the signature collection procedure, CVK will ask the Saeima to consider amending the law to allow residents to sign the referendum electronically by using Latvija.lv portal. This would help save the money that is spent of organising physical signature collection.
Friday, the 5th of January, marked the end of the signature collection process.
In order to initiate a referendum, it was necessary to collect signatures from one-tenth of the population or 154 241 voters. Only 14.65% or 22 602 signatures were collected over the course of the month. This means it is unlikely the necessary number of signatures will be collected.
On the 9th of November 2023 the Saeima passed in the final reading the legislative draft prepared by Minister of Justice Inese Lībiņa-Egnere. This legislative draft provided for the adoption of a new institute of law in the country – partnership. This will also serve as a way for same-sex couples to legalise their relationships.
Shortly after this institute’s adoption, three political parties – Combined List, Latvia in First place and National Alliance – collected signatures of 34 Saeima deputies to attempt to organise a referendum to repeal the adoption of the law. Later on For Stability political party joined in on this.
Also read: Partnership institute issue in Latvia remains a controversial topic for Latvian residents
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