A referendum on whether the

Saeima The Saeima () is the parliament of the Latvia, Republic of Latvia. It is a unicameral parliament consisting of 100 members who are elected by proportional representation, with seats allocated to political parties which gain at least 5% of the po ...

should be dissolved early was held in

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

on 23 July 2011.

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Valdis Zatlers Valdis Zatlers (born 22 March 1955) is a Latvian politician and former physician who served as the seventh president of Latvia from 2007 to 2011. He won the Latvian presidential election of 31 May 2007. He became President of Latvia on 8 July 2 ...

used his parliamentary dissolution power for the first time in the history of Latvia.Zatlers nolemj rosināt Saeimas atlaišanu
Delfi, 28 May 2011 A "yes/no" vote was held and the referendum passed with 94.3% support.

Background

called the referendum under the power given to him by the constitution on 28 May 2011. Zatlers called the referendum in response to the

's refusal to sanction a search at the home of MP Ainārs Šlesers, leader of

Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way ( lv, Latvijas Pirmā partija/Latvijas Ceļš, LPP/LC) was a political party in Latvia created from the merger of the Christian-democratic Latvia's First Party (LPP), the liberal Latvian Way (LC) and the regional ...

and a former cabinet minister. According to the current legal procedure, the referendum on the Saeima's dissolution had to take place no later than two months after the President's decree. The

Constitution of Latvia The Constitution of Latvia ( lv, Satversme) is the fundamental law of the Republic of Latvia. Satversme is the oldest Eastern or Central European constitution still in force and the sixth oldest still-functioning republican basic law in the ...

foresaw that if the people had not supported Zatlers' decision, he would have had to resign from the presidency. This could have created a judicial conundrum, however, since Zatlers' current term expired on 7 July and the Saeima held a

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

(in which Zatlers was also a candidate) on 2 June.Zatlers ir Latvijas vēsturē pirmais Saeimas atlaišanas ierosinātājs
Delfi, 28 May 2011 As Zatlers was not reelected, however, this conundrum was avoided.

Background

Opinion polls

Results

References