On Friday, 4 November, Latvia’s President Egils Levits proclaimed in the Latvian Herald the Law on Local Governments passed in the second viewing in the Saeima.
Levits stressed that the foundation is in place for local population councils and local communities to be institutionally organized and represented in the municipal administrations.
The president wrote on Twitter that what happens next will depend on how each individual municipal council implements the new regulations, how skillfully the freedom provided by the law is used and how motivated local communities are.
The Latvian Herald also features the president’s comment in regards to Section 58 of the Law on Municipalities, which applies to councils of local councils.
Levits points out that during the implementation of the Administrative Territorial Reform he had suggested preserving the rights of local communities to elect their own representatives to represent their interests in communication with local governments.
This would give local residents the authority to make decisions in regards to issues of local importance.
According to the president, this mechanism was needed to prevent the appearance of peripheries in the biggest municipal territories, and to preserve representation of voters’ interests as closely to their communities as possible.
Levits said that Section 58 of the law states that municipalities are allowed to elect advisory municipal institutions – residents’ councils, in order to ensure representation of interests of local residents and contribute to the development of municipal territories and promote cooperation among residents and motivate them towards coordinated efforts.
The president explained that the new regulations will not only provide local governments the rights to form resident councils, but also basically make it mandatory to compose such advisory institutions at local governments.
BNN previously reported that on 20 October the Saeima passed in the final reading the new Law on Municipalities, complying with the president’s request to add corrections and improvements in regards to resident councils.
The law will come into force on 1 January 2023.