Urbanovics defends Usakovs' decision to run in European Parliament elections

  • 2019-02-27
  • LETA/TBT Staff

RIGA - Harmony’s vice-chairman Janis Urbanovics believes Riga Mayor Nils Usakovs’ (Harmony) has made the right decision by choosing to run in the European Parliament elections.

Urbanovics told LETA that this was the right decision because Usakovs has become a symbolic target of political opponents’ attacks and that he does not want to harm his colleagues in the Riga City Council and his party. Usakovs is therefore “not clinging to his seat and is stepping aside”, which in Urabanovics’ opinion is a “sensible step”.

Urbanovics also emphasized Usakovs’ active cooperation with colleagues in the Party of European Socialists (PES), as well as voiced confidence that he will be a good representative of Latvia in the European Parliament.

Urbanovics declined comments on who might take over from Usakovs as mayor of Riga if Usakovs is elected to the European Parliament.

As for the party’s leadership, Urbanovics said he did not plan on running for Harmony chairman. Urbanovics believes this position should be given to a younger politician like Vjaceslavs Dombrovskis, for instance.

As reported, the Harmony group in the Riga City Council and the board of Honor to Serve Riga (GKR) party are calling for putting Riga Mayor Nils Usakovs and former vice-mayor Andris Ameriks (GKR) on the Harmony ticket for the coming European Parliament elections.

Harmony will decide on approving its ticket for the elections already this Thursday, February 28.

The European Parliament elections will take place in May.