Presidential palace besieged by protesters

RIGA - Hundreds of protesters have gathered outside of the president's palace in central Riga to demand that the government revoke recent increases to electricity tarriffs.

The protest includes dozens of trucks that have brought traffic to a near stand-still on the street outside the palace and hundreds of people flocking into the courtyard on the other side of the building.

Protesters have signs reading "The fight can be won!" and "I want to live! I want to eat!". Many of the protesters also wield broken umbrellas in a nod to the now infamous "umbrella protests" that had a hand in bringing down the previous government.

The president has met with the leaders of the protest and pledged to raise the matter with a number of key figures and institutions, including Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis, Economy Minister Artis Kampars, the Public Utilities Commission, the State Audit Office and the ombudsman.

With Zatlers up for re-election in just two months, he is eager to keep both parliamentarians and the people happy.

The new tariffsa would foresee an increase in the cost of electricity for households that use more than 1,200 kilowatt/hours of power. Companies would be given the choice of three different plans.