Vice-President of the Bank of Latvia Santa Purgaile has officially withdrawn her candidacy for the high post, as LETA was told by the central bank.
“The Bank of Latvia needs a President who can fully perform the duties established by law as soon as possible. Given that my candidacy does not have the support from the ruling coalition, I decided to withdraw my candidacy for the post to avoid wasting time in fruitless discussions,” as mentioned in Purgaile’s statement.
On Friday, the 24th of January, parties that compose the ruling coalition in Latvia conceptually agreed on Purgaile as the official candidate to become the next President of the Bank of Latvia.
According to what the head of New Unity’s Saeima faction Edmunds Jurēvics told LETA, partners of the coalition believed Purgaile meets all the criteria set out above, with particular emphasis on impeccable reputation and the ability to perform the duties of office in full capacity from the first day in office both at the Bank of Latvia and representing Latvia in the working formats of the European Central Bank.
Andris Šuvajevs, co-chairman of Progressives party, told LETA that it is important for his party for the coalition to reach an agreement on a candidate equal to the last President of the Bank of Latvia Mārtiņš Kazāks.
Harijs Rokpelnis, the head of the Saeima faction of the Union of Greens and Farmers, said that Purgaile meets the coalition’s criteria.
Rokpelnis stressed that Kazāks’ opinion on issues regarding credit unions is different to Purgaile’s.
“In simple terms, the Bank of Latvia’s determination was that the system of credit unions in Latvia was acceptable, although we can clearly see that there is a greater involvement of capital in this system in Lithuania,” said Rokpelnis. He believes this is a major flaw in Latvia, because it would otherwise help boost competition and lending in regions.
On Monday, the 27th of January, coalition partners met with Purgaile in order to officially announce her candidacy and allow her to present her vision for the future of the Bank of Latvia, as well as answer questions from the media.
It was also reported that opposition parties Combined List and National Alliance decided to submit an official application to the Saeima Praesidium, proposing Mārtiņš Kazāks as a candidate to lead the central bank for another term.
The deadline for submission of candidates for the post of President of the Bank of Latvia is the 31st of January.