The Social Democratic party “Harmony” (Saskaņa) has submitted a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) regarding language restrictions during election campaigns in Latvia.
The party believes that the current regulation violates freedom of expression and the right to free elections.
“Saskaņa” emphasizes that, while the vast majority of Latvia’s population speaks Latvian, the use of minority languages in pre-election campaigning is essential. It increases access to information, ensures broader public participation, and fosters active political dialogue on local, national, and European issues. According to 2022 statistics, Russian is the native language of 37.7% of the population.
The party disagrees with the Constitutional Court’s position that language restrictions are justified due to the geopolitical situation and Russia’s attempts to influence elections in other countries.
In its application to the ECHR, “Saskaņa” cites expert opinions in support of its position.
The Latvian Ombudsman’s opinion of the 9th of September 2024, states that the restrictive measure is excessively broad and seriously threatens freedom of expression and democratic pluralism. In a separate opinion published on the 11th of April 2025, Constitutional Court judge Jānis Neimanis argued that the ban on minority languages in pre-election campaigning violates freedom of expression as set out in Article 100 of the Latvian Constitution.
“Harmony” also refers to previous ECHR rulings in similar cases. In 2023, in the case of Mestan v. Bulgaria, the court found that banning the use of Turkish in pre-election campaigns was a violation of freedom of expression. The ECHR also found a violation in a case against Turkey regarding the use of Kurdish in voter meetings.
“Our complaint today is a fight for freedom of speech and common sense. I don’t understand why, as a democratically elected Member of the European Parliament, I cannot inform Russian-speaking Latvian citizens in Russian about home insulation opportunities through EU funds. This is discrimination and absurd,” said MEP Nils Ušakovs from “Harmony”.
The party is also preparing a second complaint to the ECHR concerning language proficiency tests for Russian citizens residing in Latvia. Political debate on the issue was held in April 2024 in the European Parliament’s Petitions Committee following Ušakovs’ initiative. The matter generated significant interest among MEPs and remains under review.
It has already been reported that paid pre-election campaign materials in Latvia must be published in the official state language or, alongside the state language, translated into official languages of the European Union.