Riga received a public warning

On Saturday, August 2, a referendum was held in Latvia, in which citizens were asked whether they needed the right to demand the dissolution of parliament, which now only the president of the country has. The referendum failed due to insufficient turnout; instead of the required 50% (at least 747.8 thousand people), 40.14% of citizens (about 600 thousand) came to the polling stations. But those who came showed rare unanimity - more than 96% said “yes” to the people’s right to dissolve the Sejm.

The results of the failed referendum became a serious warning for the ruling majority. According to experts, people came to the polling stations on a hot summer day to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the policies being pursued and the economic situation. The vote showed how significant the scale of popular discontent is. Today, Latvian President Valdis Zatlers intends to hold meetings with political parties represented in the Seimas to discuss the results of the referendum with them.

Danuta DEMBOVSKAYA, Riga