ONE MORE WEEK: The Central Election Committee has one more week tocollect 40,000 signatures in order to call for a referendum. In the first threeweeks of the campaign, they have managed to collect about 110,000 signatures.
RIGA - As of April 25, slightly more than 110,000 signatures had been collected in favour of holding a referendum on a set of National security amendments opposed by the president.
In order to hold a referendum on the amendments, a total of 149,064 signatures 's or 10 percent of the eligible voting population in Latvia 's will have to be collected. The Central Election Committee will continue the signature gathering campaign until May 2.
There are approximately 40,000 more signatures required and only seven days left in the campaign. At the current rate of signature gathering, the CEC will not be able to collect the necessary number of votes before the deadline.
The 615 polling stations set up in the country are open at least four hours a day, including holidays and weekends. Signatures are also being collected in 27 foreign countries where 32 places intended for the purpose have been set up.
The voters have a choice of signing for one or both of the suspended bills. Depending on the choice of the voter one or two markings are made in his or her passport.
Fearing the ramifications of a successful campaign, on March 29 the Latvian parliament passed in the final reading a revised version of the said bills, revoking the suspended amendments. The signature gathering process, however, goes on unabated.
The amendments to national security laws sparked enormous controversy and nearly plunged Latvia into a political crisis. The government initially pushed the amendments through using a special law which allows them to pass bills while Saeima (parliament) is in recess, a move which the president blasted as brazen and unnecessary.
The president vetoed the bill, sending it to parliament for revision. When Parliament sent it back to her desk unchanged on March 10, the president still refused to promulgate the amendments, exercising her right under article 72 of the constitution.
The exact locations of the stations, their working hours, and a copy of the special booklet containing information about the two national security amendments can be found on the CEC's homepage.
The CEC must summarize and publish it's results by May 10.
