Latvia’s President Egils Levits urges the Saeima to amend the law so that it is possible to cease providing state budget financing to political parties whose Saeima factions fall apart.
Levits’ proposed legislative amendments provide for giving Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) the authority to make the decision to terminate payment of state budget financing to political parties if their Saeima faction is reduced by more than two-thirds or if the faction ceases operations in the parliament entirely.
For the current Saeima the change of the law would have a direct impact on KPV LV, which has received the most votes and seats in the parliament in elections, but has since fallen apart almost entirely. This year KNAB has made the decision to cease the payment of state budget financing (EUR 646,303) to the party now known as For a Humane Latvia for one year. The reason given is because this party has used state budget funds illegally.
Amendments to the Law on Financing of Political Organizations were submitted by President Egils Levits to the Saeima on January 20.
The president still believes the increase of state budget financing for political parties together with reduced options for attracting private donations is a step in the right direction and will help improve Latvia’s democratic structure in the long run.
The president believes that it was necessary, but the issue itself was a long-delayed political decision that had since helped reduce the lack of democracy in Latvia’s structure. Levits believes that by providing sufficient state budget financing it is possible to reduce political parties’ dependence on private donations and “selfish interests” that may come with them.
He also explained that during the discussion of the legislative project he invited the Cabinet of Ministers and the Saeima to follow the use of related regulations in practice and be prepared to add corrections if problems were found.
The president stresses that he has proposed differentiating the financing provided to political parties multiple times, providing additional criteria to help stimulate more rational operations of political parties and their activities between elections. Levits said sooner or later these topics would surface again. At the same time, the president believes the decision to provide political parties with state budget financing was correct.
Levits says he has closely followed the use of the Law on Financing of Political Organizations and has met regularly with institutions and representatives of political parties, discussing with them topics related to financing of political parties.
In those discussions, the president says, the topic of providing state budget financing to parties whose Saeima factions have reduced significantly, making them unable to defend their voters’ interests and plans detailed in their pre-election programs came up a lot.
The president adds that only slight law amendments are needed to resolve this issue. (BNN/Business World Magazine)
