Baltic States – CIS, Latvia, Legislation

This fact can only be confirmed by a court.

The Totalitarianism Legacy Documentation Center carries out background checks of all candidates running in elections in Latvia.

Constitutional Protection Bureau spokeswoman Iveta Maura confirmed to LETA that the Totalitarianism Legacy Documentation Center concluded on April 22 that Ivanovs does not conform with Local Government Election Law, as he is a former KGB agent.

According to law, a person who has worked in former Soviet KGB institutions cannot run for office in Latvia.

Furthermore, according to the Citizenship Law, a person cannot obtain Latvian citizenship if he/she has served in Soviet KGB institutions, or any other foreign security or surveillance services.

Ivanovs told LETA recently that he recently obtained Latvian citizenship through naturalization, and that all the necessary background checks were made.

However, Maura confirmed that the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs had informed the Totalitarianism Legacy Documentation Center on June 27, 2012 of Ivanovs' activities as a former KGB agent.

Boriss Ivanovs (Latgale Party) told LETA yesterday that he is not intending to lay down his mandate.

''If the necessary background checks were already made during my naturalization process, and nothing was ascertained, I do not understand why now my political opponents have turned to the responsible institutions regarding my possible connection with the Soviet KGB. I also do not understand why the responsible institutions have changed their position on this matter,'' Ivanovs emphasized.

Latgale Party co-chairman and Daugavpils Mayor Janis Lacplesis told LETA that his party is not planning on reviewing the possibility of expelling Ivanovs from the party. He said that this matter could only be reviewed after an official court ruling.