The Constitution of Latvia, ratified on February 15, 1922, contains a provision regarding one of the reserve powers of the President of Latvia to initiate the dissolution of the parliament. According to Article 48-50 of the Constitution,
48. The President shall be entitled to propose the dissolution of the Saeima. Following this proposal, a national referendum shall be held. If in the referendum more than half of the votes are cast in favour of dissolution, the Saeima shall be considered dissolved, new elections called, and such elections held no later than two months after the date of the dissolution of the Saeima.
49. If the Saeima has been dissolved, the mandate of the members of the Saeima shall continue in effect until the newly elected Saeima has convened, but the dissolved Saeima may only hold sittings at the request of the President. The agenda of such sittings shall be determined by the President.
50. If in the referendum more than half of the votes are cast against the dissolution of the Saeima, then the President shall be deemed to be removed from office, and the Saeima shall elect a new President to serve for the remaining term of office of the President so removed.[1]
Since 2009, Article 14 also foresees the right for the citizens without involvement of president:
14. Not less than one tenth of electors has the right to initiate a national referendum regarding recalling of the Saeima. If the majority of voters and at least two thirds of the number of the voters who participated in the last elections of the Saeima vote in the national referendum regarding recalling of the Saeima, then the Saeima shall be deemed recalled. The right to initiate a national referendum regarding recalling of the Saeima may not be exercised one year after the convening of the Saeima and one year before the end of the term of office of the Saeima, during the last six months of the term of office of the President, as well as earlier than six months after the previous national referendum regarding recalling of the Saeima.
The electors may not recall any individual member of the Saeima.[2]
Thus, the Constitution establishes one of the possible procedures to resolve a political crisis in a parliamentary republic by entitling the President, an otherwise largely ceremonial figure, to initiate the dissolution of parliament, but at the potential cost of his own office, should his initiative be rejected by popular vote.
This constitutional power was used for the first time in the history of the Latvian state by the President, Valdis Zatlers, on May 28, 2011.[3] This move was in response to the parliament's refusal to sanction a search at the home of Ainārs Šlesers, a Saeima member and former Cabinet minister.[4] The referendum on the dissolution of parliament has to take place no later than two months time after the President's decree. On May 30 the Central Election Commission resolved that the vote take place on July 23, 2011.[5]
Previously, following the riots in Riga on January 13, 2009, President Zatlers promised to dissolve the Saeima unless it adopted amendments to the Constitution providing for the possibility of dissolving it by popular vote.[6] These amendments were adopted by the Saeima on April 8, 2009,[7] but on April 1, 2009, the President decided not to dissolve parliament.[8]
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, was also dissolved unconstitutionally on May 15, 1934 following a bloodless coup organized by then-Prime Minister Kārlis Ulmanis. The Cabinet declared a military state of emergency and suspended the activity of all parties which effectively put a ban on the work of the Saeima.[9] This act was in direct violation of the Constitution and led to the establishment of an authoritarian regime.
^"Latvijas Republikas Satversme. III nodaļa. Valsts prezidents". likumi.lv. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
^"The Constitution of the Republic of Latvia". vvc.gov.lv. Archived from the original on 2018-12-21. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
^DELFI (28 May 2011). "Zatlers nolemj rosināt Saeimas atlaišanu". delfi.lv. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
^"Latvia to Vote on Dissolving Parliament Amid Corruption Probe - Bloomberg Business". bloomberg.com. 28 May 2011. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
^DELFI (30 May 2011). "Referendums par Zatlera ierosinājumu atlaist Saeimu notiks 23.jūlijā". delfi.lv. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
^The Latvian President’s Announcement to the Mass Media on January 14, 2009 Archived 2010-09-18 at the Wayback Machine 14.01.2009
^"Grozījumi Latvijas Republikas Satversmē". likumi.lv. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
^"Zatlers reneges on threat to dissolve parliament". baltictimes.com. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
^Valdības Vēstnesis: Trešdiena, 16. maijs, 1934[permanent dead link]
and 25 Related for: Dissolution of parliament in Latvia information
the dissolutionof the parliament. According to Article 48-50 of the Constitution, 48. The President shall be entitled to propose the dissolutionof the...
The Saeima (Latvian pronunciation: [ˈsai.ma]) is the parliamentof the Republic ofLatvia. It is a unicameral parliament consisting of 100 members who...
The president ofLatvia (Latvian: Latvijas Valsts prezidents lit. 'State President ofLatvia') is head of state and commander-in-chief of the National...
on 1 October 2022. The Constitution ofLatvia prescribes a referendum for five purposes: recalling of the Parliament (Article 14)[citation needed] acceding...
politics ofLatvia takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister is the head of government...
Soviet Union, formally establishing the dissolutionof the Soviet Union as a sovereign state and subject of international law. It also brought an end...
including Latvia. In July 1989, the country began the process of restoring their independence, and after the dissolutionof the Soviet Union, Latvia's sovereignty...
organizations. Soviet instability in the 1980s and the dissolutionof the Soviet Union provided an opportunity for Latvia to restore its independence. On...
republic represented by a unicameral parliament (Saeima) and the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic ofLatvia (Latvian: Latvijas Republikas Ministru kabinets)...
minister ofLatvia (Latvian: ministru prezidents) is the most powerful member of the Government ofLatvia, who presides over the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers...
parliamentary elections were held inLatvia on 17 September 2011, following the country's first parliamentary dissolution referendum held on 23 July 2011...
Supreme Soviet of the Latvian SSR in which Latvia declared independence from the Soviet Union. The Declaration stated that, although Latvia had de facto...
was held inLatvia on 23 July 2011. President Valdis Zatlers used his parliamentary dissolution power for the first time in the history ofLatvia. A "yes/no"...
The dissolutionof Czechoslovakia (Czech: Rozdělení Československa, Slovak: Rozdelenie Československa), which took effect on December 31, 1992, was the...
The history ofLatvia began around 9000 BC with the end of the last glacial period in northern Europe. Ancient Baltic peoples arrived in the area during...
following are parties represented in the Saeima or the European Parliament. Republic (Republika, R) United for Latvia (Vienoti Latvijai, VL) The Conservatives...
Communist Party ofLatvia (Latvian: Latvijas Komunistiskā partija, LKP) was a political party inLatvia. The party was founded at a congress in June 1904....
the capital of Lithuania. After the dissolutionof the Soviet Union the issue of these territories was raised by the Estonian and Latvian governments...
of the Livonian Noble Corporation (Latvian: Vidzemes bruņniecības nams), also known as Saeima House (Saeimas nams), is the seat of the parliamentof Latvia...
In September 1991, following the failed August Coup attempt and the restoration ofLatvian independence from the USSR, the transitional parliament, the...
Popular Front ofLatvia (Latvian: Latvijas Tautas fronte) was a political organisation inLatviain the late 1980s and early 1990s which led Latvia to its independence...
Gorbachev as part of the Helsinki Accords are cited as one of the factors which led to the dissolutionof the USSR in 1991 as result of the Cold War and...
Barricades (Latvian: Barikādes) were a series of confrontations between the Republic ofLatvia and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in January 1991...
May 2023 after three rounds of voting by the Saeima – the ParliamentofLatvia. He was sworn in as president on 8 July. In late 2022, political scientist...
took shape in Russia after the Dissolutionof the Soviet Union and the annexation of Crimea. Separatism in modern Russia was at its biggest in the 1990s...