In the opinion of the ombudsman, the deputies of Jelgava Municipality Council have demonstrated a non-serious attitude, indifference by distancing themselves from the evaluation of the communication and behaviour of the former Chairman of the Council Madars Lasmanis (LA), under the pretext of a conflict of interest, the Ombudsman’s Office indicates.
The ombudsman believes that the concept of “conflict of interest”, widely used by deputies at the meeting of the Jelgava Municipality Council on the 28the August this year, when deciding on the establishment of a deputy ethics commission for the evaluation of Lasmanis’ actions and communication, does not in any way correspond to what the legislator meant by this concept.
“By failing to comply with the ombudsman’s recommendation, deputies demonstrate attitudes towards values, morals, ethics, human rights, while recognizing the worthlessness and formal nature of the Code of Ethics for Deputies. According to the ombudsman, the application of ethical norms in the work of the municipal council should not depend on political solidarity, sentiment, moral maturity or unjustified use of the concept of “conflict of interest”,” says the head of the Social, Economic and Cultural Rights Department of the Ombudsman’s Office Ineta Rezevska.
Additionally, the office notes that Society for Openness – Delna has stressed in its most recent study on ethics in municipalities just how important it is for municipal council’s to have a mechanism to monitor compliance with codes of ethics. It is important to develop a code of ethics not only so that it can be formally placed on the official website of the municipality, but also so that the procedure is binding, up-to-date, effective and viable, notes the association.
On the 25th of April, this year, the ombudsman completed the examination case “On the Ethics of Communication and Action of the Chairman of the Municipal Council and Bossing”, which assessed Lasmanis’ communication and action against the employees of the council.
As a result, the ombudsman found unethical, abusive, humiliating and violent communication and behaviour,
including unwanted sexual conduct in the form of verbal harassment and bossing by the chairperson of the council. Taking into account the conclusions of the inspection case, the ombudsman invited the deputies of Jelgava Municipality Municipality Council to evaluate the behaviour and actions of deputy Lasmanis as the chairman of the council in the Ethics Commission in accordance with the ethics norms of the municipality. The deadline for this recommendation was the 25th of July.
On the same day, the ombudsman received a letter from Jelgava Municipality Council stating that the deputies had not been able to comply with the ombudsman’s recommendation by the set deadline. Failure to comply with the recommendation is based on the difficult situation in Jelgava Municipality Council regarding the election of the Chairman of the Council.
On the 30th of August, the ombudsman repeatedly addressed Jelgava Municipality Council, calling on deputies to evaluate the ethics of the actions of deputy Lasmanis and to inform the Ombudsman about the results.
On the 3rd of October, this year, the ombudsman received a letter from Jelgava Municipality Council regarding the consideration of a draft decision on the establishment of a Committee on Ethics of Deputies for the assessment of Lasmanis’ actions in accordance with ethical norms at the Council meeting on the 28th of August.
Jelgava Municipality Council decided to reject the prepared draft decision. Thus, the ombudsman’s recommendation is not fulfilled, notes the Ombudsman’s Office.