RIGA - A signature gathering campaign aimed at amending the constitution giving citizens the right to disband Parliament through referenda was pronounced successful according to preliminary results, paving the way for a dramatic confrontation between lawmakers and Latvians later this year.
The campaign, which needed about 149,000 signatures to force Parliament to vote on the issue, drew support from more than 213,000 people, the Central Election Committee said on April 12.
The Free Trade Union of Latvia, which is spearheading the campaign, is determined to make Latvia the only country in the European Union where it is possible for the people to directly dissolve the legislature.
The organization expressed delight at the large number of voters who were willing to sign onto the idea.
"I'm excited that this generated so much interest, although we expected many supporters as this is a big issue for most people. Our work will continue with the president and parliamentarians, and we think it will be successful… Big kisses to all of the people who signed," a representative of the Free Trade Union said.
Voters often had to wait in long lines to sign the petition and express their frustration with the government. Inflation in Latvia has reached nearly 17 percent 's an 11-year high 's and the perception of corruption and incompetence in government has reached an apex.
Signatories said they were upset by the slew of corruption scandals that the government has recently suffered and by an inflation rate which is quickly spiraling out of control.
"I'm really tired of these acts, and that's why I went to sign the petition. If there will be a referendum, then I'll take part in it for sure. Maybe at some point politicians will see that the citizenry isn't a bunch of idiots," a man named Juris told The Baltic Times while waiting in line to sign the petition.
Under the current law, only the president may call a referendum to dissolve Parliament 's a motion which puts the president's own job on the line as well. The new law would alter paragraphs 78 and 79 of the constitution so that one-tenth of the country's eligible voters could initiate a popular vote calling for Parliament's dissolution.
Though the groundbreaking amendments have drawn a large amount of support from voters, the government and Parliament are against the motion and think that the laws will bring chaos to an already unstable political environment.
Ivars Ijabs, a political science professor at the University of Latvia, said that these concerns would overpower popular support and lead Parliament to brush off the amendments.
"There is no way that the Saeima (Latvian parliament) will approve this referendum. They will without a doubt just dismiss it. This lack of quality in their work is nothing new," Ijabs told The Baltic Times.
"After a month or so the coalition leaders will have to rinse their brains and think of something new. But I don't think it will make a difference 's we've seen [this sort of thing] before," the political scientist said.
Once the Central Election Commission verifies the signatures, a process which is expected to take about three weeks, the petition will be sent to the president who will then pass it on to lawmakers.
Parliament has to vote on the bills during the first possible scheduled session, assuming at least two-thirds of the deputies are present. Two-thirds of the participating deputies need to vote for the bill for it to pass.
If Parliament shoots down the amendments in their current form, then the issue will go to referendum. It is estimated that a referendum would cost about 2.5 million lats (3.56 million euros).
According to the constitution, over one-half of all eligible voters would have to support the amendments in order for them to be enacted.
A poll carried out by the Latvian Facts survey center found that about 40 percent of the population would be willing to vote in such a referendum, but it is not possible to tell if there would ultimately be enough people to pass the vote.
The poll results, released on April 13, found that only 12.5 percent of voters were sure that they would not participate in a referendum. Only 2.4 percent of respondents were outright against the amendments, the TV3 "Nothing Personal" news program said.
See page 14 for opinion piece
