EU – Baltic States, Jurmala, Latvia, Society

There is a plan to elect Rita Sproge (Greens/Farmers) as Jurmala’s new mayor. Support for Sproge’s election might be secured as seven councilors of the Union of Greens and Farmers and one independent councilor who was elected to the city council from Harmony are going to vote for Sproge. Ledins said that there have been no talks with other political parties on their possible support for Sproge, but that other councilors can also back her election to ensure “common work for the benefit of the city”.

The Jurmala City Council is due to convene for the extraordinary meeting at 1:30 p.m.

The local authority of Jurmala has issued a statement to the media saying that Truksnis will carry on with his work as a member of the city council. Truksnis, who has been chairing the Jurmala City Council since 2010, admits that for him the recent months have been “full of anxiety and emotionally deeply disturbing”, and that this has affected his health.

“For now, I will continue work as councilor and restore my strength so that I can run in the next local elections as a candidate for the mayoral office with new confidence and energy,” Truksnis said.

Edgars Tavars, chairman of the Latvian Green Party, which is a member of the Union of Greens and Farmers, said on Latvian Television this morning that Truksnis’ membership in the party will have ended if the decision of the Green Party’s board to expel him is not contested by the evening. Tavars told LETA that he met with leaders of the Green Party’s Jurmala branch, but declined to elaborate on this meeting. He also mentioned “political and public pressure” that has been felt in recent months.

As reported, Truksnis, who was dismissed as Jurmala mayor in October, was reelected to the mayoral office later thanks to a vote from Harmony Center.

Truksnis was returned to his previous position by eight votes, which included seven votes from the Union of Greens and Farmers and one vote from Harmony Center.

The Green Party of Latvia is one of the two main political parties forming the Union of Greens and Farmers.

As reported, Truksnis is a suspect in a criminal probe into illegal party financing.