On Thursday, 17 March, the Saeima in the final reading adopted the Local Government Referendum Law. It determines the procedure for the initiation and conduct of municipal referenda.

The law has been adopted to encourage the participation of local residents in the decision-making process on issues of local interest and sets out the issues on which a local government referendum may be initiated and held, the source of its funding, as well as the procedure for proposing and implementing the referendum and the results to be announced. It is stipulated that the local government referendum will be organised by the electoral commission of the relevant local government and, if necessary, the Central Election Commission will provide its support.

The law enables referenda to be held on the sustainable development strategy of the local government, and the decisions of the council by which the municipality proposes the construction of a new public building, as well as on the dissolution of the municipal council. The referendum outcome will enter into force as soon as the referendum results are approved, and will have to be executed by the council within a maximum of one month.

The new law establishes the right to initiate a local government referendum for a citizen of Latvia who has reached the age of 18, and a citizen of the European Union who is not a citizen of Latvia, but who is registered in the Register of Natural Persons.

The council will also be able to initiate a municipal referendum with the support of at least two-thirds of the council members. This will enable the municipality to allow citizens to formally express their views on a specific issue. The municipal council will not be able to hold a referendum on the dissolution of the council.

In order to be able to raise an issue in the municipality, citizens will first have to sign up to propose a referendum. It is planned that the collection of signatures will take 30 days in person or electronically via www.latvija.lv. In turn, voting in the municipal referendum is planned in person in municipal polling stations and electronically using the voting system of the Central Election Commission.

The law provides that a local government referendum may be held at the same time as the elections to the Saeima, the European Parliament or the local government, as well as at the same time as a national referendum.

According to the authors of the draft law in the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, the Local Government Referendum Law is necessary to ensure the possibility for residents to participate in decision-making in local governments, and steer the work of the municipal council in the interests of local residents.

Up to now, at the initiative of the residents of a local government, the municipal council or its chairperson, a public consultation could be organised for consultative purposes regarding the modification of the boundaries of the administrative territory of the local government, as well as the local government development programme and spatial planning.

The Local Government Referendum Law will enter into force on 1 January 2024.

Saeima Press Service