Legislation / Law on National Referendums, Legislative Initiatives and European Citizens Initiative
Unofficial translation
Modified by amendments adopted till 8 November 2012
As in force on 11 December 2012
The Saeima has adopted and the President of Latvia
has proclaimed the following Law:
Law on National Referendums, Legislative Initiatives and European Citizens’ Initiative
(The title of the Law was amended by the 20 September 2012 Law)
Chapter I
General Provisions
Article 1
A national referendum shall be held if:
1) the Saeima has amended the first, second, third, fourth, sixth or seventy-seventh Article of the Constitution (Satversme);
2) the President of Latvia has proposed the dissolution of the Saeima;
3) the President of Latvia has suspended the proclamation of a law for two months, and during this period a petition by not fewer than one-tenth of the electorate has been received to put the suspended law to a national referendum;
4) the Saeima has not adopted without change as to its content a draft law or a draft amendment to the Constitution submitted by not less than one-tenth of the electorate;
5) membership of Latvia in the European Union must be decided;
6) substantial changes in the terms regarding the membership of Latvia in the European Union must be decided, and at least one-half of the members of the Saeima have requested a national referendum on this matter.
7) at least one-tenth of the electorate have proposed the dissolution of the Saeima.
(As amended by the 8 May 2003 Law and the 8 November 2012 Law.)
Article 11
This law regulates also the European citizens’ initiative as far as not otherwise provided in the Regulation (EU) No 211/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011.
(As amended by the Law of 20 September 2012)
Article 2
All citizens of Latvia who are eligible to vote in the Saeima elections may participate in national referendums and in legislative initiatives.
Article 3
(1) Pursuant to the procedure prescribed by law, national referendums shall be prepared and supervised by the Central Election Commission, which shall issue the necessary instructions.
(2) deleted by the Law of 8 November 2012
(As amended by the 8 November 2012 Law.)
Chapter II
Organization of National Referendums
Article 4
(1) If the Saeima has amended the first, second, third, fourth, sixth or seventy-seventh Article of the Constitution, such amendments, in order to come into force as law, shall be submitted to a national referendum.
(2) A national referendum on such laws shall be held not earlier than one month before and not later than two months after the date when these laws have been adopted by the Saeima.
(As amended by the 8 May 2003 Law.)
Article 5
(1) If the President of Latvia has proposed the dissolution of the Saeima, he/she shall notify the Central Election Commission thereof.
(2) A national referendum on such a proposal by the President of Latvia shall be held not earlier than one month before and not later than two months after the date the Central Election Commission has received such notification.
Article 6
(1) If the President of Latvia has suspended the proclamation of a law, then not later than on the 11th day after the adoption of the law by the Saeima the text of the suspended law and the decision on the suspension of its proclamation shall be communicated to the public in accordance with the procedure for proclaiming laws.
(2) After such a communication, the Central Election Commission shall inform all city and municipality election commissions that the collection of signatures for a national referendum begins and shall deliver signatures sheets to the above-mentioned commissions.
(As amended by the 8 May 2003 Law, the 21 February 2008 Law and the 17 July 2008 Law.)
Article 7
(1) The Central Election Commission shall set a term of 30 days during which the signature sheets for voters to sign shall be available at the places designated by city or municipality councils. The term should include successive days, excluding days when the elections of the Saeima, the European Parliament, city or municipality councils or national referendums take place and when the collection of signatures for petitioning a national referendum is not permitted.
(2) Signatures collection stations must be set up in each city and municipality so that there is at least one station per 10,000 voters where they may sign the petition.
(3) deleted by the Law of 8 November 2012.
(4) Not later than three days prior to the beginning of signatures collection referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, city and municipality election commissions shall determine the opening times when voters will be able to sign signatures sheets at the stations designated by the relevant city or municipality councils. The opening times shall not be shorter than four hours a day, including Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
(5) The relevant council shall ensure that notifications about addresses and opening times of signatures collection stations are placed at the building of the relevant council (or public information points) and at signatures collection stations, as well as published in the newspaper of local government, but if there is no such newspaper, - in any other local newspaper.
(6) Voters who are abroad during collection of signatures may sign the signatures sheets in the embassies and other diplomatic or consular missions of the Republic of Latvia. The place and time of signatures collection shall be determined by the head of the relevant mission.
(As amended by the 26 July 1995 Law, the 8 May 2003 Law, the 6 April 2006 Law, the 21 February 2008 Law, the 17 July 2008 Law and the 8 November 2012 Law.)
Article 71
(1) If any voter for health reasons is unable to come to a signatures collection station, the election commission, on the basis of a written request submitted by the voter or a person authorised by him/her, shall collect the signature where the voter is located. The request shall be submitted to the relevant election commission or collector of signatures not later than by 12.00 a.m. on the 29th day of signatures collection (during the working hours of the election commission). All such requests shall be recorded in a special journal. Collection of signatures at the locations of voters shall be conducted by the election commission on the last day of signatures collection.
(2) Collection of signatures from persons who are regarded as suspects or are accused or on trial and for whom custody has been imposed as a security measure shall take place in accordance with the procedure prescribed in paragraph 1 of this Article. Requests of these persons shall be forwarded to the relevant election commission by the administration of the relevant penal institution.
(As amended by the 21 February 2008 Law.)
Article 8
(1) The signatures sheets shall contain the full name and the personal identity number of each signatory as indicated in his/her Latvian citizen’s passport, as well as the date of signing the signatures sheet.
(2) If a physical handicap prevents a voter from signing the signatures sheet, a member of his/her family or some other trustworthy person shall sign the signatures sheet in the voter’s presence according to his/her verbal instructions. A special entry to this effect shall be made in the signatures sheet.
(As amended by the 8 May 2003 Law and the 21 February 2008 Law.)
Article 9
(1) The stamp of the relevant city or municipality election commission and the signature of the commission chairperson shall be put at the bottom of each signatures sheet to certify that the collection of signatures has taken place in accordance with the procedure prescribed by law.
(2) When the period for collecting signatures as prescribed by the Central Election Commission has expired, the city and municipalityelection commissions shall send the signatures sheets to the Central Election Commission in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the Commission.
(As amended by the 17 July 2008 Law.)
Article 10
(1) When the period for collecting signatures has expired, the Central Election Commission shall count the signatures, record the results, notify the President of Latvia about the results and publish them in the official medium “Latvijas Vēstnesis”. If not fewer than one-tenth of the citizens of Latvia eligible to vote in the previous Saeima elections have signed the signatures sheets, within three days the Central Election Commission shall announce a national referendum.
(2) A national referendum for repealing the suspended law shall be held not earlier than one month before and not later than two months after the day of the announcement of the referendum.
(As amended by the 8 May 2003 Law and 8 November 2012 Law.)
Article 11
(1) If the Saeima has not adopted without change as to its content a draft law or a draft amendment to the Constitution submitted by at least one-tenth of the electorate, this draft law or draft amendment to the Constitution must be put to a national referendum.
(2) A national referendum on a draft law or a draft amendment to the Constitution submitted by the electorate shall be held not earlier than one month before and not later than two months after the day the said draft law or draft amendment to the Constitution has been rejected or has been adopted with changes in its content.
(3) Membership of Latvia in the European Union shall be decided by a national referendum.
(4) The Saeima shall propose holding a national referendum on substantial changes in the terms regarding Latvia’s membership in the European Union if so requested by at least one-half of the members of the Saeima.
5) A national referendum shall be held if at least one-tenth of the electorate have proposed the dissolution of the Saeima in accordance with the procedure set out in Chapter IV2 of this Law.
(As amended by the 8 May 2003 Law and 8 November 2012 Law. See Article 2, 9, 11 and 12 of Transitional Provisions.)
Article 12
(1) The date of a national referendum shall be set and announced by the Central Election Commission, but in cases referred to in paragraphs 1, 3, 4 and 5 of Article 11 of this Law, the date of the referendum shall be set and announced by the Saeima.
(2) A national referendum shall be held on a Saturday.
(As amended by the 8 May 2003 Law and 8 November 2012.)
Chapter III
Voting at National Referendums and Counting of Votes
Article 13
(1) Voting shall take place by secret ballot with ballot papers and in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the Central Election Commission.
(2) The ballot papers shall be prepared by the Central Election Commission.
Article 14
(1) The matter put to a national referendum (Article 1 of this Law) and the words “for” and “against” shall be written on each ballot paper. When a national referendum is to be held on matters referred to in paragraphs 5 and 6 of Article 1 of this Law, the wording of the relevant question shall be drafted by the Saeima.
(2) If a national referendum takes place on more than one matter referred to in Article 1 of this Law, separate ballot papers must be issued for each matter.
(As amended by the 8 May 2003 Law.)
Article 15
(1) Voting at a national referendum shall take place from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. local time. The Central Election Commission shall appoint one polling station at which the election takes place till 10.00 p.m. in every city, except Riga, Daugavpils and Liepaja; also the local election commission in every municipality also may do he same. The Rīga City Election Commission may appoint four, the Daugavpils City Election Commission may appoint two, and the Liepaja City Election Council may appoint two such polling stations.
(2) At 7:00 a.m. the chairperson or the secretary of the polling station commission, in the presence of the commission, shall check to see that the ballot boxes into which the ballot papers will be inserted are empty. Then the ballot boxes shall be sealed.
(3) At a polling station, up to two authorised observers at a time from each political party or association of political parties, members of the Central Election Commission, the relevant city or municipality election commission as well as persons authorised by the said commissions and media representatives, may observe the voting process but may not interfere with the work of the polling station commission.
(As amended by the 8 May 2003 Law, the 4 September 2003 Law, the 17 July 2008 Law and the 8 November 2012 Law.)
Article 16
(1) Each voter shall cast a vote in person. If a physical handicap prevents a voter from voting or signing the list of voters, a member of his/her family or some other trustworthy person shall mark the ballot paper or sign the list of voters in the voter’s presence and according to his/her verbal instructions. A special entry to this effect shall be made in the list of voters. A member of the relevant polling station commission may not act as such a trustworthy person.
(2) A voter is free to cast his/her vote at any polling station.
(3) On the day of a national referendum, servicemen shall be given a leave of absence for the time required for voting.
(As amended by the 3 September 1998 Law.)
Article 17
(1) In the polling station, the polling station commission, after checking that the person is an eligible voter and that his/her passport does not already bear a mark about participation in the current referendum, shall issue that person a ballot paper bearing the mark of the polling station. After the ballot paper has been issued, the person’s full name and personal identity number shall be recorded in the list of voters, and the person’s passport shall be marked to attest to his/her participation in the referendum. The voter shall sign the list of voters to confirm the receipt of the ballot paper.
(2) A separate room or compartment shall be arranged inside the polling station where the voter may make his/her choice in privacy by putting a “+” mark opposite the words “for” or “against”.
(3) After the voter has marked the ballot paper, he/she shall fold the ballot paper and insert it into the ballot box in the presence of a member of the polling station commission.
(4) On the referendum day, only those voters who have arrived at the polling station before 8:00 p.m. shall be allowed to cast their votes after 8:00 p.m. Then the polling station shall be closed.
(As amended by the 3 September 1998 Law, the 8 May 2003 Law, the 18 September 2003 Law and 8 November 2012 Law.)
Article 18
(1) If any voter is unable to come to the polling station for health reasons, then on the basis of a written request filed by the voter or a person authorised by him/her and registered in a special journal, the polling station commission shall conduct voting by secret ballot at a place where the voter is located (off site). Specially authorised observers shall have the right to supervise such voting.
(2) Voting off site may also be organised for caregivers of the persons specified in paragraph 1 of this Article, provided they have filed a written request in due time.
(3) Deleted by the 26 February 2009 Law.
(4) Other voters are not permitted to vote outside the polling station.
(5) On referendum day, the polling station commission shall continue to accept written requests to conduct on-site voting. Requests received after 12:00 noon shall be fulfilled if it is possible to arrive before 10:00 p.m. at the place where the voter is located.
(6) Names of the voters who vote off site as provided in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article shall be entered in a separate list of voters, and their ballot papers shall be inserted into a separate sealed ballot box.
(7) Information about the number of ballot papers issued at the place of the voter and the number of unused ballot papers, including damaged ones, shall be entered in the minutes of the voting process.
(As amended by the 8 May 2003 Law, the 18 September 2003 Law and the 26 February 2009 Law.)
Article 19
(1) Deleted by the 8 May 2003 Law.
(2) The votes shall be counted in an open sitting of the polling station commission in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the Central Election Commission.
(As amended by the 3 September 1998 Law and the 8 May 2003 Law.)
Article 20
(1) Voters residing in a foreign country at the time of a national referendum shall vote at the polling stations established by the Central Election Commission in the diplomatic or consular missions of the Republic of Latvia as recommended by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or they shall vote by mail. Upon consultation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Central Election Commission may also establish polling stations in other premises suitable for this purpose.
(2) If a national referendum takes place simultaneously with the election of the Saeima or the European Parliament, voting in foreign countries shall take place in all the polling stations set up in accordance with the procedure prescribed by law.
(3) Voters who are abroad during a national referendum may also vote by mail. Voting by mail shall take place in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the Saeima Election Law.
(4) Voting of persons for whom imprisonment has been chosen as a means of safety or those serving a prison sentence shall be organised as it is provided by the Saeima Elections law.
(As amended by the 3 September 1998 Law, the 8 May 2003 Law, the 6 April 2006 Law and the 26 February 2009 Law.)
Article 20.1
(1) Invalid ballot papers shall be those which:
1) are torn;
2) do not bear the stamp of the respective polling station;
3) bear a “+” mark opposite both “for” and “against”;.
4) do not bear a “+” mark opposite “for” or “against”.
(2) Any differences of opinion concerning the validity of the ballot papers shall be decided by a majority vote of the polling station commission members. If there is a tie vote, the chairperson of the commission shall have the deciding vote.
(As amended by the 3 September 1998 Law.)
Article 21
During national referendums, the maintenance of order at a polling station shall be the responsibility of the chairperson of the polling station commission. It shall be his/her responsibility to ensure that there is no infringement of voting rights, no public disturbance and no campaigning in the polling station or within 50 meters from the entrance of the building in which the polling station is located.
(As amended by the 8 May 2003 Law.)
Chapter IV
Legislative Initiatives
Article 22
Not fewer than 10,000 Latvian citizens eligible to vote, upon indicating their full name and personal identity number, shall have the right to submit to the Central Election Commission a fully elaborated draft law or a draft amendment to the Constitution. Not earlier than 12 months before the submission of the draft law or the draft amendment to the Constitution, each signature must be certified by a sworn notary public or a local government authority that performs notarial functions.
(As amended by the 8 May 2003 Law and the 6 April Law.)
Article 23
(1) To collect signatures for a draft law or draft amendments to the Constitution, an initiative group shall be set up.
(2) An initiative group may be:
1) a political party or association of political parties;
2) an association of at least 10 electors associated and registered in accordance with the Associations and Foundations Law.
(3) The initiative group shall submit to the Central Election Commission an application and the draft law or draft amendments to the Constitution for which it is planned to collect signatures of the electors.
(4)The Central Election Commission shall take one of the following decision within 45 days:
(1) to register the draft law or draft amendments to the Constitution;
(2) to set a timeframe for rectifying any faults established in the draft law or draft amendments to the Constitution;
3) to refuse the registration of the draft law or draft amendments to the Constitution in the cases listed in paragraph 5 of this Article.
(5) The Central Election Commission shall refuse the registration of the draft law or draft amendments to the Constitution if:
1) the initiative group does not comply with the requirements under paragraph 2 of this Article;
2) the draft law or draft amendments to the Constitution are not completely evolved by form or contents.
(6) The Central Election Commission, in deciding upon a draft law or draft amendments to the Constitution submitted by an initiative group, may request additional information, explanations and opinions from state and local government institutions required for deciding the matter as well as call in experts.
(As amended by the 8 November 2012 Law.)
Article 231 (1) The Central Election Commission’s decision to refuse the registration of the draft law or draft amendments to the Constitution may be appealed by the initiative group to the Administrative Cases Department of the Supreme Court Senate.
The court shall examine the case as a court of first instance. The court shall have a panel of three judges.
(3) The court shall examine the case and take a decision within one month of the day of receiving the application. If required, the court may extend the timeframe for taking a decision but not longer than by one month.
(4) The applicant shall provide the substantiation for the application. The burden of proof shall be on the participants of the administrative proceedings.
(5) If the law stipulates a timeframe for a procedural action but this timeframe would violate the provisions under paragraph 3 of this Article, the judge (court) may set a respective timeframe for the performance of the procedural action.
(6) The court's decision and any other decisions taken during proceedings related to examining the application or case initiated shall not be subject to appealing.
(As amended by the 8 November 2012 Law.)
Article 24 (1) The collection of signatures shall take place in accordance with the procedure prescribed by Articles 7–9 of this Law.
(2) Citizens who have signed the submitted draft law or the draft amendment to the Constitution in accordance with the procedure prescribed by Article 22 of this Law shall be included in the total number of supporters of the given law. If these citizens have also signed the signatures sheets in accordance with the procedure prescribed by paragraph 1 of this Article, their signatures on the signatures sheets shall not be taken into account.
(3) The Central Election Commission shall count the signatures and record the results, and then, within three days, shall notify the President of Latvia about the results and shall send the President the draft law or the draft amendment to the Constitution submitted by the electorate.
(As amended by the 26 July 1995 Law.)
Article 25
(1) If the draft law or the draft amendment to the Constitution has been signed by not fewer than one-tenth of Latvian citizens who were eligible to vote in the previous Saeima elections, the President of Latvia shall submit to the Saeima the draft law or the draft amendment to the Constitution.
(2) The Saeima must consider the draft law or the draft amendment to the Constitution during the session when the draft was submitted. If the draft law or the draft amendment to the Constitution has been submitted during a recess or at an extraordinary session, it must be considered at the next regular session or a special extraordinary session which is convened to consider the said draft law or the draft amendment to the Constitution.
Chapter IV1
European Citizens’ Initiative
(As amended by the 20 September 2012 Law)
Article 251
(1) If statements of support will be collected online, the organisers shall submit to the Information Technologies Security Incident Response Institution an application for issuing a certificate attesting the online system used for that purpose has adequate security and technical features set out in the Regulation (EU) No 211/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011.
(2) The Information Technologies Security Incident Response Institution shall examine the application and within one month issue a certificate, or make a decision to refuse to issue a certificate.
(3) The decision of the Information Technologies Security Incident Response Institution refusing to issue the certificate attesting the online collection system has adequate security and technical features, may be appealed in court according to the order prescribed by the Administrative Procedure Law.
(4) This article shall not apply to cases when the organisers have received the certificate attesting the online collection system has adequate security and technical features, issued by competent authorities by another Member State of the European Union.
Article 252
The organisers shall submit the collected statements of support to the Central Election Commission in accordance to the Regulation (EU) No 211/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011.
Article 253
(1) The Central Election Commission shall count the signatures, find the result and send to the organisers a certificate confirming the number of valid statements to the e-mail address indicated on the form within two months after the statements of support have been received from the organisers.
(2) If the Central Election Commission finds the verification of the received statements does not fall within its jurisdiction, the Central Election Commission shall return the statements of support to the organisers within two weeks.
Article 254
The Central Election Commission shall develop the necessary instructions, under which the statements of support shall be verificated.
Chapter V
Financing the Costs of a National Referendum
(The title of the Chapter was amended by the 8 November 2012 Law)
Article 26
Costs arising from the preparation and holding of a referendum shall be covered from the state budget. The Central Election Commission shall apportion the resources among city, municipality and polling station election commissions.
(As amended by the 17 July 2008 Law.)
Chapter VI
Campaigning Before a National Referendum, Campaigning for a Proposal of a Law and Campaigning for a Proposal of the Dissolution of the Saeima
(The Chapter was amended by the 8 November 2012 Law. See Article 7 of Transitional Provisions)
Article 27
(1) Campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for a proposal of a law and campaigning for a proposal to dissolute the Saeima, for the purposes of this Law, shall mean any organised notice, event or activity of any form and type if it includes a direct or indirect invitation to vote for or against the matter to be decided in the national referendum and any direct or indirect invitation to take part or not to take part in the national referendum, the collection of signatures for proposing a law or collecting signatures for the dissolution of the Saeima.
(2) For the purposes of this Law, the campaigning period before a national referendum shall be the period from the day of announcing the national referendum till the day of holding the national referendum. For the purposes of this Law, the campaigning period for a proposal of a law shall be the period from the day of announcing by the Central Election Commission on the registration of the draft law till the last day of collecting signatures. For the purposes of this Law, the campaigning period for a proposal to dissolute the Saeima shall be the period from the day of announcing by the Central Election Commission on the registration of the initiative group (for collecting signatures for dissolving the Saeima) till the last day of collecting signatures.
Article 28
(1) Campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law and campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima may be carried out by any private individual, legal entity, registered association of such persons or initiative group (hereinafter – campaigning organiser).
(2) Campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law and campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima may not be carried out by the State, other derived public person, a member of election commission, a capital company in which more than one percent of capital shares (stocks) is held by the State or a derived public person.
Article 29
(1) On the day of a national referendum and the day before it, it shall be prohibited to place any campaigning materials in electronic mass media, radio and TV, shows, at public places, in press media, on the Internet and at the institutions and capital companies referred to in paragraph 1 of Article 33 of this Law.
(2) Campaigning before a national referendum and campaigning for the proposal of a law shall be prohibited at the places referred to under paragraph 2 of Article 7 of this law, on polling premises and closer than 50 metres from the entry into the building in which the polling station is located. This prohibition shall apply also to campaigning for the dissolution of the Saeima.
(The second sentence of paragraph 2 shall become void as of January 1, 2015. See Article 8 of Transitional Provisions.)
Article 30
(1) Campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law and campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima may not be included as advertising in news broadcasts of electronic mass media.
(2) On the day of a national referendum till 10:00 p.m., it shall be prohibited to include results of public opinion polls on the matter to be decided in the national referendum in any broadcasts and shows of electronic mass media – radio and television.
(3) Electronic mass media may not edit, cut or in any other way transform broadcasts and materials of campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law or campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima without consent from the persons participating in them. Electronic mass media shall not be responsible for the truthfulness of previously prepared and submitted to them campaigning materials.
(4) Electronic mass media that provide the retranslation of foreign electronic mass media broadcasts in Latvia, in the agreement with the respective foreign electronic mass medium, shall include a provision that during the periods of campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law or campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima the retranslated broadcasts shall not include any materials of campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law or campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima.
(5) The provisions of this Law shall not apply to recitals of facts in news programs or live reportages.
Article 31
(1) Prior or directly after any campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law or campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima in a show or broadcast of electronic mass media, radio and television, or in press media, on the Internet or at a public place it shall be announced who has paid for the campaigning material.
(2) If payment has been received for campaigning referred to in Paragraph 1 of Article 27 hereof and the payer, in contradiction to the provisions of this Law, has not been announced, it shall be considered hidden campaigning. For the purposes of this Law, a payment is any remuneration, including but not limited to any tangible benefits, services, assignment of rights, release from an obligation, giving up any right in favour of a third person.
(3) Hidden campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law and campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima shall be prohibited.
Article 32
(1) Prior to campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law or campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima, a campaigning organiser shall be entitled to place in public spaces campaigning materials, stands and tables or portable tents that comply with the dimensions specified by the local government and upon at least three days’ notice to the local government. The state and local governments may specify public spaces where campaigning materials may not be placed.
(2) The Cabinet shall set out the procedure whereby local governments calculate and collect the payment for the placement of materials of campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law and campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima.
(3) The campaigning organiser shall be responsible for removing the campaigning materials in accordance with the procedure set out by the local government.
(4) The provisions of paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article shall not apply to campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law and campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima organised within the framework a festive, commemorative, entertainment, sports or recreation event organised by the campaigning organiser. In these cases the matters related to approvals for and the course of such events shall be regulated in accordance with the Public Entertainment and Festive Events Law.
(5) The State and derived public persons shall be prohibited from providing special advantages to or imposing restrictions on campaigning organisers regarding the placement in public spaces of materials of campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law or campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima.
Article 33
(1) In institutions of the State and derived public persons and in capital companies where the State or derived public persons hold more than 50% capital shares (stocks), it shall be prohibited to place in public spaces campaigning materials of campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law or campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima.
(2) The restriction under paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply to informative materials of the Central Election Commission on a national referendum, proposal of a law and proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima and to the cases referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article.
(3) Institutions of the State and derived public persons and capital companies where the State or derived public persons hold more than 50% capital shares (stocks) may give rooms or rent out rooms for a fee not higher than the actual maintenance costs of the rooms for the campaigning organiser for meetings with electors, provided that other persons also may use, upon the same conditions, these rooms to meet electors.
Article 34
(1) For campaigning prior to a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law and campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima, a private individual, a legal entity or a registered association of such persons may use for the costs of campaigning an amount that does not exceed the average gross monthly salary of the year before last year as published by the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia, rounded to full lats, applying to it the ratio of 0.00007 and calculated per one elector of the electors who took part in last elections to the Saeima. This restriction shall not apply to the case referred to paragraph 2 of this Article.
(2) For campaigning prior to a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law and campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima, an initiative group may use for the costs of campaigning an amount that does not exceed the average gross monthly salary of the year before last year as published by the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia, rounded to full lats, applying to it the ratio of 0.00007 and calculated per one elector of the electors who took part in last elections to the Saeima.
(3) Regarding campaigning carried out by a registered association of political parties before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law and campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima, also the costs spent for the same purpose by the parties forming the association shall be considered costs of campaigning.
(4) The expenditures of an individual deputy or deputy candidate, member of a political party or member of an initiative group for individual campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law and campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima shall be included in the campaigning costs of the respective initiative group.
(5) The funds referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article that the person may use for campaigning shall consist of the person’s expenditures during the period of campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law and campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima regardless of the date when the transaction document (invoice, agreement or any other document) has been made, or a payment is received or made for the following:
1) placement of advertising:
a) in shows and broadcasts of public electronic mass media, television,
b) in shows and broadcasts of public electronic mass media, radio,
c) in shows and broadcasts of commercial electronic mass media, television,
d) in shows and broadcasts of commercial electronic mass media, radio,
e) in newspapers, magazines, bulletins and other periodicals registered in accordance with the procedure set out in the law and that are printed and distributed in the entire territory of Latvia,
f) in newspapers, magazines, bulletins and other periodicals registered in accordance with the procedure set out in the law and that are printed and the largest par of the circulation of which is distributed in the territory of one city/town or municipality,
g) on the Internet, except on websites of a political party, association of political parties or initiative group,
h) rooms and public spaces (squares, streets, bridges and similar) regardless of their ownership;
2) use of mail (including electronic mail) services for sending materials of campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law or campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima;
3) funding and sponsoring charity events, paying grants and making gifts (donations).
(6) The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau shall annually publish on its website on the Internet an informative notice, in which the amount referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article that can be spent per one elector for campaigning for the proposal of a law and campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima is specified.
Article 35
(1) If campaigning before a national referendum or campaigning for a proposal of a law is carried out by a political party or an association of political parties which has submitted its list of deputy candidates for the Saeima elections in three, four or five election constituencies and the period of campaigning before a national referendum or campaigning for a proposal of a law completely or partially overlaps the period of campaigning before the Saeima elections, it may spend for the campaigning before a national referendum or campaigning for a proposal of a law and the campaigning before the Saeima elections together the amount of costs specified in the Political Organisations (Parties) Financing Law that can be used the campaigning before the Saeima elections.
(2) If campaigning before a national referendum or campaigning for a proposal of a law is carried out by a political party or an association of political parties which has submitted its list of deputy candidates for the Saeima elections in one or two election constituencies and the period of campaigning before a national referendum or campaigning for a proposal of a law completely or partially overlaps the period of campaigning before the Saeima elections, it may spend for the campaigning before a national referendum or campaigning for a proposal of a law and the campaigning before the Saeima elections together the amount of costs specified in paragraph 1 or 2 of Article 34 of this Law.
(3) If two or more periods of campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law or campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima overlap (in any combination), then for all the campaigns before a national referendum, for the proposal of a law and for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima together the respective amount of costs specified in Paragraph 1 or 2 of Article 34 of this Law may be used.
(4) The campaigning organiser may finance campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law and campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima, including making of gifts (donations) from their lawfully obtained income.
(5) Campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law and campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima may not be financed with funds that:
1) have been directly or indirectly obtained from legal entities registered abroad and from foreign citizens;
2) obtained from an anonymous payer. An anonymous person shall mean a person, who/which cannot be identified (private individual has not specified their first name and surname, identity number and residence address; legal entity has not specified its name, registration number and registered address);
3) obtained through the agency of a third person. Financing the campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law or campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima through the agency of a third person shall mean events where, using personal interest in Financing the campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law or campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima, personal identity data of other person are used or when it is donated through the agency of a third person for the financing of campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law or campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima. For the purposes of this Law, a situation where an authorised person makes a donation on behalf of the authorising person on the basis of a letter of authorisation certified by a notary public and in which a specific donation amount or property and its value are specified. Such authorisation may not be assigned to another person.
(6) All financial funds intended or used for campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law and campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima and exceed one minimum monthly salary shall be directly transferred into the beneficiary’s bank account. If the financial funds intended or used for campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law and campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima have amounted to one minimum monthly salary, any further financial funds shall be directly transferred into the beneficiary's bank account.
(7) For the purposes of this Law, a gift (donation) is any tangible benefits or any other type of free benefits, including but not limited to any services, assignment of rights, release from an obligation, giving up any right in favour of a third person and other activities by which the interested person obtains any benefit. For the purposes of this Law, a gift (donation) shall mean also the transfer of a movable or immovable property in the ownership of the interested person and the provision of any services to the interested person at a price lower than market value of the respective movable or immovable property or service.
Article 36
(1) If the costs of publishing a material of campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law or campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima in an electronic mass medium or press medium exceeds the respective amount expenditures specified in Paragraph 1 or 2 of Article 34 or paragraphs 1, 2 or 3 of Article 35 of this Law, the electronic mass medium or press medium shall refuse the conclusion of the agreement.
(2) The campaigning organiser shall conclude the agreement for the publishing of the materials of campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law or campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima with the respective electronic mass medium or press medium directly and without using authorised persons.
Article 37
(1) The electronic mass medium or press medium that has agreed with the campaigning organiser on publishing materials of campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law or campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima shall not later than on the next working day after concluding the agreement or making amendments to a concluded agreement send a notification to the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau on placing the material of campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law or campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima in the broadcast of the electronic mass media or in the press media.
(2) The campaigning organiser that has agreed with a service provider on publishing materials of campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law or campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima on the internet in exchange for a payment, rooms and public spaces regardless of their ownership or on using mail (including electronic mail) services for sending materials of campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law or campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima shall not later than on the next working day after concluding the agreement or making amendments to a concluded agreement send a notification to the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau on placing the materials of campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law or campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima.
(3) The notification referred to in paragraph 1 and 2 of this Article shall include the following information:
1) date of agreement;
2) data of the parties to the agreement:
a) if the customer is a legal entity, including political organisations, associations of political organisations, association, its name, registration number and registered address,
b) if the customer is a private individual, their first name and surname, identity number and declared residence address,
c) if the customer is a registered association of persons, its name, registration number and registered address,
d) if the customer is an initiative group, its name and its representative’s, who enters into the agreement, first name and surname, identity number and declared residence address;
3) if the campaigning material is placed by or the service provider is a private individual, their first name and surname, identity number and declared residence address;
4) if the campaigning material is placed by or the service provider is a legal entity or a registered association of legal entities or private individuals individual, its name, registration number and registered address;
5) depending on the type of placing the campaigning material, the following shall be specified:
a) in shows and broadcasts of public electronic mass media, television and radio: the date and time of placing of every campaigning material and its duration,
b) in press media: the date of placing and the square size of every campaigning material,
c) on the Internet against a payment: the date and time of placing of every campaigning material and its duration and volume,
d) in rooms or public spaces: the date of placing and the duration and square size of every campaigning material,
e) if the campaigning materials are sent by mail (including electronic mail): the date of sending the campaigning material and its volume;
6) contract price (including value added tax);
7) any discounts applied and their justification and the contract price without the discount (including value added tax);
8) procedure of the payment of the contract price and payment timeframes (including whether in cash or by transfer);
9) any other information that the person who placed the campaigning material or the person who has agreed with a service provider on placing or sending the material deems relevant.
(4) In the cases referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 35 of this Law, the political party or association of political parties shall submit to the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau documents on the expenditures for campaigning before a national referendum and campaigning for the proposal of a law in accordance with the legislation that regulates the control of expenditures of campaigning before the Saeima elections, providing the expenditures of both campaigns.
Article 38
(1) A person who has violated the restrictions under this Law on campaigning before a national referendum or campaigning for the proposal of a law, the procedure for the placement of campaigning materials or in any other way has not complied with the requirements under this Law shall be called to justice in accordance with the law.
(2) If after the period of campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law or campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau establishes that a person, a registered association of persons or an initiative group has exceeded the amount of campaigning expenditures specified in paragraph 1 or of Article 34 or paragraph 2 or 3 of Article 35 of this Law or has violated the financing restrictions set out in paragraphs 4 and 5 of Article 35 of this Law, the Head of the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau shall be obliged to order the respective campaigning organiser to transfer, within 30 days, into the state budget financial funds to the amount equal to the excess of the permitted expenditures for campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law or campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima. Upon substantiated request from the campaigning organiser, the Head of the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau may allow to distribute the payment in instalments for the total period of up to 90 days.
(3) If during the period of campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law or campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau establishes that a person, a registered association of persons or an initiative group has exceeded the campaigning expenditures specified in paragraph 1 or 2 of Article 34 or paragraphs 2 or 3 of Article 35 of this Law, the Head of the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau shall take a decision on prohibiting further campaigning.
(4) The decision on transferring financial funds into the state budget referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article may be taken by the Head of the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau not later than after five years of the campaign before a national referendum, for the proposal of a law or for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima
(5) If a political party or an association of political parties has exceeded the expenditures specified in paragraph 1 of Article 35 of this Law for campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for a proposal of a law or the Saeima elections campaign, the political party or association of political parties shall be called to justice in accordance with the legislation that stipulated liability for exceeding the expenditures of a Saeima elections campaign.
(6) Within six months of campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law or campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima, the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau shall inform the public on any campaigning violations established.
(7) The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau shall control and monitor, in accordance with the procedure set out in this Law, compliance with the financing restrictions for and permitted expenditures of campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law and campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima.
(8) Within two weeks of campaigning before a national referendum, campaigning for the proposal of a law or campaigning for the proposal of the dissolution of the Saeima, the initiative group shall make and submit to the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau a campaigning report, in which the campaigning financing sources and expenditures are specified in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 5 of Article 34 of this Law.
(As amended by the 8 November 2012 Law.)
Transitional Provisions
(As amended by the 8 November 2012 Law)
1. Until 1 January 2004, voters living abroad who by the referendum day have not been issued a Latvian citizen’s passport shall present or mail to the polling station commission a registration document issued by the Board of Citizenship and Migration Affairs bearing the voter’s personal identity number.
(As amended by the 8 November 2012 Law.)
2. The new wording of Articles 22 and 24 of this Law, the amendments to Article 25 of this Law, which stipulate a change of the procedure for proposing a draft law or draft amendments to the Constitution, and Chapter IV2 shall come into force as of December 1, 2015.
(As amended by the 8 November 2012 Law. The amendments shall come into force on 1 January 2015.)
3. Till 1 September 2014, the Cabinet shall ensure the technical and security readiness of the Unified State and Local Government Service Portal for the collection of signatures online.
(As amended by the 8 November 2012 Law.)
4. Till 1 January 2015, not less than 30,000 electors shall have the right, upon providing their first name and surname, identity number and the date of signing, submit to the Central Election Commission a fully evolved draft law or draft amendments to the Constitution. The draft law or draft amendments to the Constitution may be submitted within 12 months of the day on which the draft law or amendments to the Constitution were registered with the Central Election Commission. During these 12 months, each elector’s signature shall be certified by a certified notary public or by an orphans’ court that performs notary activities. The fee for the certification of a signature in connection with a collection of signatures for a draft law or draft amendments to the Constitution at the orphans' court shall be set in accordance with the direct administrative costs of certifying a signature but not higher than a half of the fee for attesting a signature by orphans' court specified in the law.
(As amended by the 8 November 2012 Law.)
5. If till 1 January 2015 not less than 30,000 electors, upon providing their first name and surname, identity number and the date of signing, submit to the Central Election Commission a fully evolved draft law or draft amendments to the Constitution, the Central Election Commission shall set a timeframe of 21 days during which the signature collection sheets, in which electors can sign, are available at places specified by every city/town or municipality council.
(As amended by the 8 November 2012 Law.)
6. Till 1 January 2015, the notice on commencing the collection of signatures for proposing a law, together with the submitted draft law or draft amendments to the Constitution, shall be published in the official medium “Latvijas Vēstnesis”.
(As amended by the 8 November 2012 Law.)
7. Articles 27, 28, 30, 31, 32 and 33 of this Law shall be applied also to national referenda or proposals of laws, including collections of signatures commenced and not concluded before coming into force of these Amendments.
(As amended by the 8 November 2012 Law.)
8. The second sentence of paragraph 2 of Article 29 of this Law shall become void as of January 1, 2015.
(As amended by the 8 November 2012 Law. The amendment shall come into force on 1 January 2015)
9. Till 1 January 2015, as minimum 10,000 electors shall have the right, upon providing their first name and surname, identity number and date of signing, submit to the Central Election Commission a proposal to organise a national referendum on the dissolution of the Saeima. To commencing the collecting of signatures for the proposal to organise a national referendum on the dissolution of the Saeima, an initiative group that complies with the requirements under paragraph 2 of Article 23 of this Law shall be set up. The initiative group shall submit an application for registration to the Central Election Commission.
(As amended by the 8 November 2012 Law.)
10. If an application for the registration of an initiative group has been submitted in accordance with Article 7 of these Transitional Provisions, the Central Election Commission shall take one of the following decisions within 10 days:
1) to register the initiative group if it complies with the requirements under paragraph 2 of Article 23 of this Law and if on the day on which the application for registration is submitted the timeframe stipulated in Article 14 of the Constitution when the right to propose a national referendum on the dissolution of the Saeima may not be used has not fallen due;
2) to refuse to register the initiative group if it does not comply with the requirements under paragraph 2 of Article 23 of this Law or if on the day on which the application for registration is submitted the timeframe stipulated in Article 14 of the Constitution when the right to propose a national referendum on the dissolution of the Saeima may not be used has fallen due.
(As amended by the 8 November 2012 Law.)
11. Till 1 January 2015, a proposal to organise a national referendum on the dissolution of the Saeima may be submitted within 12 months of the day when the initiative group is registered with the Central Election Commission, unless the timeframe stipulated in Article 14 of the Constitution has come into force when the right to propose a national referendum on the dissolution of the Saeima may not be used. During these 12 months, each elector’s signature shall be certified by a certified notary public or by an orphans’ court that performs notary activities. The fee for the certification of a signature in connection with a collection of signatures for the dissolution of the Saeima at the orphans' court shall be set in accordance with the direct administrative costs of certifying a signature but not higher than a half of the fee for attesting a signature by orphans' court specified in the law.
(As amended by the 8 November 2012 Law.)
12. Till 1 January 2015, the Central Election Commission, having established that a proposal to organise a national referendum on the dissolution of the Saeima has been signed by at least 10,000 Latvian citizens with voting rights, shall announce that the collecting of signatures is commenced. An announcement of the proposal to organise a national referendum on the dissolution of the Saeima shall be published in the official medium “Latvijas Vēstnesis”. The collecting of signatures shall be done in accordance with the procedure set out in Articles 7-9 of this Law. The citizens who have signed, in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 22 of this Law, for the proposal to organise a national referendum on the dissolution of the Saeima shall be counted in the total number of proposers. If the same citizens have signed also in accordance with the procedure set out in paragraph 1 of this Law, their signatures shall not be counted in the signature collection sheets. The Central Election Commission shall count the signatures and establish the result.
(As amended by the 8 November 2012 Law.)
This Law was adopted by the Saeima on 31 March 1994.
The President of Latvia, G. ULMANIS
Riga, 20 April 1994
Last modified May 22, 2013