Zatlers called the referndum in response to corruption |
The people
of Latvia have decided to send their elected representatives packing in a bid
to clean up the nation's corruption-tainted politics. Elections for a new
parliament are expected in September.
Latvians
overwhelmingly voted to dissolve their national parliament on Saturday in a
referendum called to challenge the power of so-called "oligarchs" who
straddle the line between business and politics.
The Latvian
people decided with 95 percent of the vote to dissolve the current 100-member
parliament and hold snap elections in September. Former president Valdis
Zatlers had called the referendum in May just before leaving office.
"I got
fed up of living in a country ruled by lies, cynicism and greed," Zatlers
said on the eve of the referendum.
"I
have opened the door to change," he continued. "Now it is up to you
to step through it and feel that you can take control of your own
destiny."
'Oligarch'
businessmen
The move by
the former president was designed to target moneyed interests in parliament.
Zatlers called the referendum after the legislature refused to lift the
immunity of "oligarch" lawmaker Ainars Slesers, thereby hampering a
corruption probe. Slesers is the leader of a pro-business opposition party and
one of Latvia's richest men.
"I
believe this is a good opportunity to ensure that parties which represent
oligarch interests or vote in the interest of oligarchs will not have the
majority in the next parliament," Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis told
journalists after the vote.
Latvia is
currently coming out of the European Union's worst recession. The small Baltic
country's economy plummeted 18 percent in 2009 after implementing austerity measures
in response to the economic crisis.
Zatlers,
who has formed his own political party, is now well positioned to join a
coalition government in the upcoming September elections.
Author:
Spencer Kimball (Reuters, AFP)
Editor: Andreas Illmer
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