Former Lembergs' deputy Vitolins elected new mayor of Ventspils

RIGA - Members of Ventspils City Council on Monday elected former vice-mayor Janis Vitolins (For Latvia and Ventspils) the new mayor of Ventspils, LETA was told at the town hall.

Vitolins ran against rival candidate Bruno Jursevics of the New Conservative Party (JKP) in the mayoral election.

Vitolins was elected Ventspils mayor by seven votes and five abstentions.

Five councilors voted for Jursevics, six voted against him and one councilor abstained.

After his election, Vitolins called an extraordinary meeting of the city council at 17:00 Monday at which the city council is expected to elect a vice-mayor in charge of cooperation.

On July 1, councilors' attempt to reelect long-standing Ventspils mayor Aivars Lembergs failed and the city council's meeting was suspended. Lembergs was the only candidate nominated for Ventspils mayor. Six council members voted for him, while the other six voted against, said Vitolins.

In June 5 local elections, For Latvia and Ventspils won seven seats on Ventspils City Council, For Latvia's Development, New Unity and Latvian Association of Regions - two seats each, and New Conservative Party and National Alliance - one seat each.

As reported, Riga Regional Court on February 22 slapped a five-year jail term, confiscation of property and a EUR 20,000 fine on Lembergs.

Lembergs was arrested in the courtroom. The court, however, took into account the time Lembergs had already spent in arrest - from March 14 until July 10, 2007, and in house arrest - from July 10, 2007, until February 22, 2008.

Environmenetal Protection and Regional Development Minister Arturs Toms Pless (For Development/For) said on Twitter that convits serving a sentence in prison are not allowed to attend local governments' meeting, they are also not allowed to use the Internet, computers, mobile and other devices.