Latvia, Legislation

International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Sunday, 19.05.2013, 00:18

Latvian Saeima approves of the new procedure of initialing referendums

Alla Petrova, BC, Riga, 21.06.2012.Print version
Latvian Saeima members today approved in the final reading amendments to the law that stipulate abandoning the current procedure of organizing referendums; under the new system, initiators of a referendum will have to themselves gather the number of signatures necessary for staging a referendum – around 150,000 signatures altogether.

The amendments, which also apply to referendums on dissolution of parliament, will come into force on January 1, 2015.

 

At this time, the referendum initiation procedure has two stages. In the first stage, at least 10,000 signatures are required to submit the proposed bill or constitutional amendments to the Central Election Commission. In the second one, no less than one-tenth of all eligible voters' signatures must be collected. This stage is funded by the state. If the necessary amount of signatures is collected, the bill is submitted for review in Saeima. If the parliament does not pass it without changes, a referendum is held.




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