Latvian parliament prevents notorious deputy from entering Mandates and Ethics Committee

On 30 September the majority of Saeima deputies rejected the initiative from the Independent Faction deputies Aldis Gobzems and Ralfs Nemiro on shuffling the composition of parliamentary committees in which they are members.
Gobzems and other opposition deputies had requested his removal from the Sustainable Development Committee. However, this request was denied. The majority of Saeima deputies also voted against Gobzems’ appointment to the Mandates, Ethics and Submissions Committee.
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On top of that, the parliament rejected Nemiro’s request regarding his removal from the European Affairs Committee. This also means there was no vote regarding his subsequent election to the Sustainable Development Committee.
As it is known, on 9 September Gobzems was banned from six meetings of the parliament for interfering with the Saeima’s meeting on 2 September. At this meeting Gobzems refused to present a negative Covid-19 test, as required from all Saeima deputies during the Covid-19 pandemic. This is why the Saeima later reconvened for a distance meeting using e-Saeima system.