a The

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

, ratified on February 15, 1922, contains a provision regarding one of the

reserve power In a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government, a reserve power, also known as discretionary power, is a power that may be exercised by the head of state without the approval of another branch or part of the government. Unlike in ...

s of the

President of Latvia The president of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Valsts prezidents ) is head of state and commander-in-chief of the National Armed Forces of the Republic of Latvia. The term of office is four years. Before 1999, it was three years. The president may be ...

to initiate the dissolution of the parliament. According to Article 48-50 of the Constitution, :::''48. The President shall be entitled to propose the dissolution of the Saeima. Following this proposal, a national referendum shall be held. If in the referendum more than half of the votes are cast in favour of dissolution, the Saeima shall be considered dissolved, new elections called, and such elections held no later than two months after the date of the dissolution of the Saeima.'' :::''49. If the Saeima has been dissolved, the mandate of the members of the Saeima shall continue in effect until the newly elected Saeima has convened, but the dissolved Saeima may only hold sittings at the request of the President. The agenda of such sittings shall be determined by the President.'' :::''50. If in the referendum more than half of the votes are cast against the dissolution of the Saeima, then the President shall be deemed to be removed from office, and the Saeima shall elect a new President to serve for the remaining term of office of the President so removed.'' Since 2009, Article 14 also foresees the right for the citizens without involvement of president: :::''14. Not less than one tenth of electors has the right to initiate a national referendum regarding recalling of the Saeima. If the majority of voters and at least two thirds of the number of the voters who participated in the last elections of the Saeima vote in the national referendum regarding recalling of the Saeima, then the Saeima shall be deemed recalled. The right to initiate a national referendum regarding recalling of the Saeima may not be exercised one year after the convening of the Saeima and one year before the end of the term of office of the Saeima, during the last six months of the term of office of the President, as well as earlier than six months after the previous national referendum regarding recalling of the Saeima.'' :::''The electors may not recall any individual member of the Saeima.'' Thus, the Constitution establishes one of the possible procedures to resolve a political crisis in a

parliamentary republic A parliamentary republic is a republic that operates under a parliamentary system of government where the executive branch (the government) derives its legitimacy from and is accountable to the legislature (the parliament). There are a number ...

by entitling the President, an otherwise largely ceremonial figure, to ''initiate'' the dissolution of

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

, but at the potential cost of his own office, should his initiative be rejected by popular vote. This constitutional power was used for the first time in the history of the Latvian state by the President,

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 ...

, on May 28, 2011. This move was in response to the parliament's refusal to sanction a

search Searching or search may refer to: Computing technology * Search algorithm, including keyword search ** :Search algorithms * Search and optimization for problem solving in artificial intelligence * Search engine technology, software for find ...

at the home of

Ainārs Šlesers Ainārs Šlesers (born 22 January 1970, Riga) is a Latvian business oligarch and politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of Latvia, as well as Deputy Mayor of Riga. Currently he is a member of the Latvian Parliament with his political party, La ...

, a

Saeima The Saeima () is the parliament of the 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 popular v ...

member and former Cabinet minister. The

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...

on the dissolution of parliament has to take place no later than two months time after the President's decree. On May 30 the Central Election Commission resolved that the vote take place on July 23, 2011. Previously, following the riots in Riga on January 13, 2009, President Zatlers promised to dissolve the Saeima unless it adopted amendments to the Constitution providing for the possibility of dissolving it by popular vote. These amendments were adopted by the

on April 8, 2009, but on April 1, 2009, the President decided not to dissolve parliament. The Latvian parliament, the

, was also dissolved unconstitutionally on May 15, 1934 following a

bloodless coup A nonviolent revolution is a revolution conducted primarily by unarmed civilians using tactics of civil resistance, including various forms of nonviolent protest, to bring about the departure of governments seen as entrenched and authoritarian ...

organized by then-Prime Minister

Kārlis Ulmanis Kārlis Augusts Vilhelms Ulmanis (; 4 September 1877 – 20 September 1942) was a Latvian politician. He was one of the most prominent Latvian politicians of pre-World War II Latvia during the Interwar period of independence from November 1918 to ...

. The Cabinet declared a military state of emergency and suspended the activity of all parties which effectively put a ban on the work of the

.Valdības Vēstnesis: Trešdiena, 16. maijs, 1934
/ref> This act was in direct violation of the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...

and led to the establishment of an

authoritarian regime Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic ...

References

External links

Legal Analysis of the Procedure for Saeima's Dissolution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parliamentary Dissolution Power Of Latvian President Government of Latvia Politics of Latvia

See also

References

External links