2012 Latvian constitutional referendum
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A constitutional referendum on the "Amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia" was held on 18 February 2012. Proposed amendments included Articles 4, 18, 21, 101 and 104 of the Constitution of Latvia by adding the condition about
Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
as the second official language, as well as prescribing two working languages — Latvian and Russian — for self-government institutions. The referendum's question was "Do you support the adoption of the Draft Law "Amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia" that provides for the Russian language the status of the second official language?". According to the 2011 census, Russian was the language primarily spoken at home by 37.2% of the residents, among them 60.3% in Latgale and 55.8% in Riga. Since 2000, Russian has been regarded as a foreign language according to the Official Language Law.


Background

In 2010 National Alliance started to collect signatures to force a referendum on whether all publicly financed schools would have to use exclusively Latvian as the language of tuition, managing to gather only 120,433 signatures, which was insufficient for a referendum. The ongoing signature gathering, however, prompted the former leader of the Latvian branch of the
National Bolshevik Party The National Bolshevik Party (NBP; russian: Национал-большевистская партия), also known as the Nazbols (russian: нацболы), operated from 1993 to 2007 as a Russian political party with a political program of Nat ...
Vladimir Linderman Vladimir Ilyich Linderman (russian: Влади́мир Ильи́ч Ли́ндерман, lv, Vladimirs Lindermans, pseudonym Abel (''А́бель''); born November 3, 1958) is a Latvian and Russian publicist, political dissident of Jewish
, the leader of the radical-left Osipov's party Yevgeny Osipov, and the youth movement "United Latvia" to start gathering signatures for a petition of their own on making Russian the state language. On September 9, 2011
NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
"
Native Language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...
" submitted the petition to the Central Election Commission signed by 12,516 people. From November 1 to November 30, 2011, the Central Election Commission held an official signature gathering, during which 187,378 of the required 154,379 signatures were collected and the proposal was sent to Saeima. On December 22, 2011, Saeima rejected the proposal, forcing a constitutional referendum that was held on February 18, 2012. The referendum initiators mentioned possible assimilation of minority children as the main reason to protest. One of the goals of this protest action was also to slow down the ongoing process of National Alliance signature collecting. Those initiating the referendum to make Russian co-official argued: "In such case there is no other defense method than attack. The initiator of hysteria should be shaken strongly to stop hysteria." Legal scholars stated that beside statehood elements, the initiative would have influenced multiple basic human rights and general principles of law protected by the Constitution of Latvia, such as the right to preserve and develop the Latvian language and Latvian ethnic and cultural identity, to participate in the work of the state and of local government, and to hold a position in the civil service; the right to choose one's employment and workplace freely; the right to education; the rights of a child; and the right to equality and non-discrimination, principles of proportionality, legal certainty, and legitimate expectations. The referendum organisers did not deny that the main achievement would be to show a large number of Russian language supporters and the final goal would be to change the status of Russian from foreign to some legal (i.e. regional) in the future. Official status for Russian was requested due to the fact that the Constitution and Official Language Law do not have any other definitions for language status other than making a language official. Amendments for granting any other status for Russian (i.e. regional) would have had a higher risk of rejection by the
Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...
, thus cancelling the referendum.
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, pro ...
High Commissioner on National Minorities Created on July 8, 1992 by the Helsinki Summit Meeting of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), now known as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) ...
Knut Vollebæk Knut Vollebæk (born 11 February 1946 in Oslo) is a former Norwegian diplomat to the United States, (2001–2007, and centrist politician ( Norwegian Christian Democratic Party). He is currently a member of the International Commission on Missi ...
planned to visit Latvia after the referendum.


Proposed constitutional changes


Polling stations abroad

A total of 85 polling stations in 41 countries — the greatest number ever — have been open outside Latvia. Besides the stations in all
embassies A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...
and many consulates general and
honorary consulate A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...
s of Latvia, polling stations were operating in the Latvian Houses in Australia, in the Daugavas Vanagi House in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, and in the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Churches in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. New polling stations were operating in
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
,
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
,
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
, Switzerland,
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
, and in the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
cities of
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and
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, as well as the island of Guernsey.


Campaign

Leader of
Harmony Centre ;russian: Достойная жизнь для каждого) , website saskanascentrs.lv Harmony Centre ( lv, Saskaņas Centrs, SC; russian: Центр Cогласия, ЦC) was a social-democratic political alliance in Latvia. It origi ...
leader and Mayor of Riga
Nils Ušakovs Nils Ušakovs (russian: Нил Валерьевич Ушаков, ''Nil Valeryevich Ushakov'') (born 8 June 1976) is a Latvian Russian politician, former mayor of Riga and former journalist. He has been the board chairman of the left-wing part ...
publicly declared signing the petition, despite the fact that both Harmony and Ušakovs had previously stated that they do not support it. He released a statement saying that he had been angered by National Alliance voting against the allocation of funds for such a referendum and went on to argue that it is not a move against the
Latvian language Latvian ( ), also known as Lettish, is an Eastern Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family, spoken in the Baltic region. It is the language of Latvians and the official language of Latvia as well ...
, but in the name of dignity. After that other deputies, local government representatives and public officials from Harmony Centre began to sign it as well, including MP Nikolajs Kabanovs who was later issued a written warning by The Saeima Mandate, Ethics and Submissions Committee for violating the
deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spai ...
's solemn vow (oath), in which Kabanov swore to strengthen the Latvian language as the only official language. Harmony MP Andrejs Klementjevs later refused to formulate his party association's official position, stating that Harmony Centre has distanced itself from the matter, however they will examine the proposal carefully should it reach the parliament. The former presidents of Latvia
Guntis Ulmanis Guntis Ulmanis (born September 13, 1939), also known as Guntis Rumpītis from 1949 to 1989, is a Latvian politician and the fifth President of Latvia from 1993 to 1999. Biography Early life Guntis Ulmanis was born in Riga on September 13, 1939. ...
,
Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga (born 1 December 1937) is a Latvian politician who served as the sixth President of Latvia from 1999 to 2007. She is the first woman to hold the post. She was elected President of Latvia in 1999 and re-elected for the seco ...
and
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 ...
, leaders of the Latvian diaspora organizations (head of the World Federation of Free Latvians Jānis Kukainis, chair of the
American Latvian Association The American Latvian Association (, ALA) is the main organization representing the Latvian American community in the United States of America, which was founded on February 24, 1951. The association and its members lead and support global effor ...
Juris Mežinskis, chair of the
Latvian Association of South America and the Caribbean Latvian may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Latvia **Latvians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to what is modern-day Latvia and the immediate geographical region **Latvian language, also referred to as Lettish **Latvian cuisine **Latvi ...
Daina Gūtmane; chair of the Latvian Congress of Russia Lauma Vlasova, chair of the
Latvian Association of Australia and New Zealand Latvian may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Latvia **Latvians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to what is modern-day Latvia and the immediate geographical region **Latvian language, also referred to as Lettish **Latvian cuisine **Latvi ...
Pēteris Strazds and chair of the
Latvian National Federation in Canada Latvian may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Latvia **Latvians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to what is modern-day Latvia and the immediate geographical region **Latvian language, also referred to as Lettish **Latvian cuisine **Latvi ...
Andris Ķesteris) and the leading coalition of
Unity Unity may refer to: Buildings * Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building * Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper * Unity Buildings, Liverpool, UK; two buildings in England * Unity Chapel, Wyoming, Wisconsin, US; ...
,
Zatlers' Reform Party The Reform Party ( lv, Reformu partija), until April 2012 known as Zatlers' Reform Party ( lv, Zatlera Reformu partija, links=no, ZRP), was a centre-right political party in Latvia founded by former President Valdis Zatlers on 23 July 2011. It wo ...
and the National Alliance all urged voters to participate in the referendum and vote against Russian as the second state language. The president at the time Andris Bērziņš initially advised people to ignore the vote gathering, dismissing it as a provocation, but when it came to a referendum also called voters not to support Russian as the second state language and said he would resign should the referendum succeed. Several notable Latvian Russians, including sculptor Gļebs Panteļejevs, stage director Mihails Gruzdovs, and journalist Marina Kosteņecka, as well as the President of Russian fraternity Fraternitas Arctica Dmitrijs Trofimovs also called for a 'no' vote.


Opinion polls

According to research conducted by the Baltic Institute of Social Sciences in 2004, 51% of respondents supported or rather supported official status for Russian, 44% opposed or rather opposed it. The focus group for this research was all the inhabitants of Latvia, including Latvian non-citizens. According to a poll performed by TNS Latvia in January 2012, 59% of citizens would vote 'no', 25% 'yes', 10% would abstain, and 6% had no opinion on the issue. According to a poll performed by Latvijas fakti in January 2012, 62.4% of citizens would vote 'no', 28% 'yes', 12.8% would abstain, and 7% had no opinion on the issue.


Results

Around three-quarters of voters voted against Russian as a second national language, with only the eastern region of Latgale seeing a majority of citizens voting for the change. The referendum had considerably higher voter participation than in previous elections and referendums, with more than 71.1% of registered voters casting ballots.


Controversy

The next day after the referendum
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (MFA Russia; russian: Министерство иностранных дел Российской Федерации, МИД РФ) is the central government institution charged with lea ...
announced that "the outcome of the referendum is far from reflecting the true mood in Latvia", pointing to around 319,000
non-citizens In law, an alien is any person (including an organization) who is not a citizen or a national of a specific country, although definitions and terminology differ to some degree depending upon the continent or region. More generally, however, ...
that could not participate in the referendum due to their status. However, if all 290,660 non-citizen members of the Russian community had participated and voted in favour of the motion, the proposal would still have been rejected with 59.15% against and 40.60% in favour, with turnout increasing to 75.68% from 71.11%.


Analysis

Analysts say the turnout, at nearly 70 per cent, indicates the strength of feeling among many ordinary Latvians, who are keen to distance themselves culturally from their former Soviet rulers. The referendum can widen the schism in society and the government will have to undertake serious efforts to consolidate the country's two groups. Though the Russians who spearheaded the referendum admitted they had no chance at winning the plebiscite, they at least hope the approximate 25 per cent of support will force Latvia's centre-right government to begin a dialogue with national minorities. Many fear the disgruntled minority will keep up the pressure by calling for more referendums to change Latvia's constitution for minorities' benefit.Latvia Russian Language Referendum Has High Turnout
The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2012-02-19.


See also

*
Russian language in Latvia The Russian language in Latvia has grown from being the fourth most-spoken language when parts of Latvia were governorates in the Russian Empire at the end of the 19th century to the second most commonly used language at home by far in independent ...
*
Language policy in Latvia Articles 4 and 114 of the Constitution of Latvia form the foundation for language policy in Latvia, declaring Latvian to be the official state language and affirming the rights of ethnic minorities to preserve and develop their languages. Livon ...
*
Russians in Latvia In Latvia, Russians have been the largest ethnic minority in the country for the last two centuries. The number of Russians in Latvia more than quadrupled during the Soviet occupation of Latvia when the size of the community grew from 8.8% of ...


Further reading

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References

{{Latvian elections 2012 referendums 2012 in Latvia Language policy in Latvia Referendums in Latvia Minority rights Linguistic rights Russian language Russians in Latvia Constitutional referendums