Latvia
Latvia transitioned to democracy in 1991, when the country gained independence from the Soviet Union (USSR). It performs in the high range across all Global State of Democracy (GSoD) categories of democracy. It is amongst the world’s top 25 per cent with regard to all factors, except for Inclusive Suffrage, Electoral Participation, Effective Parliament and Civic Engagement. Over the past five years, it has shown notable improvements in Rule of Law and Predictable Enforcement, with no significant declines. Latvia is a high-income country, although challenges to its economy and society emerge from de-population due to emigration, political corruption and above average levels of inequality.
Akin to the other Baltic states, the current political landscape in Latvia is shaped by the country’s past under the Soviet Union. For instance, the Latvian language has become a marker in the drive to reinforce a national identity, creating dividing lines with the Russian-speaking populace, many of whom settled in Latvia during the time of the USSR and today constitute approximately one quarter of Latvia’s population. Approximately 10 per cent of the population has non-citizen status, a legacy of the USSR, and is excluded from the right to vote, despite routes to naturalization and recent legislation which stipulates that no child born on the territory of Latvia is a non-citizen as of 2020. Despite signs of change, the geopolitical consequences of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine have continued to feed this legacy of historical memory in Latvia. Simultaneously, while Latvia joined both the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 2004, and the eurozone in 2014, support for regional integration is not necessarily deep-seated. Although Euroscepticism among politicians and political parties is rare, current issues in Latvian politics – such as emigration and the urban-rural divide – are often tied to European integration in the minds of the public. Relatedly, trust in government is notably low, as is voter turnout – which has stood between 55 and 59 per cent over the last decade. Low trust is exacerbated by cases of corruption in public procurement deals, including the ‘Digitalgate’ scandal which implicated several high-profile public officials. In addition, Latvia’s banking sector has been buffeted by a string of money laundering scandals, which led to the closure of one of Latvia’s biggest banks, ABLV, in 2018. Latvia also struggles with high inequality, where poverty is geographically concentrated in rural areas in the East, and is closely tied to poor social inclusion, including reduced access to good quality housing, health services, and education.
GSoD Indices data show that Latvia has consistently been a high performer on gender equality, leading Central and Eastern European countries. Nevertheless, sexual violence, unequal distribution of unpaid care, gaps in wages and access to education and decision-making – political, economic and social – are among the challenges that persist in attaining gender equality.
Looking ahead, it will be important to watch Absence of Corruption, which has continuously fluctuated over time in Latvia. Whether sincere anti-corruption reform efforts to address the prosecution of corruption and improve political and business integrity are put and held in place remains to be seen.
Monthly Event Reports
December 2023 | Compromise in Parliament paves the way for local referenda
The Parliament has passed amendments to ensure municipal referenda can be conducted in the period before the roll-out of the electronic voter register. Municipal referenda were initially planned to be introduced on 1 January 2024, but were held up over insufficient technical and logistical preparedness. The amendments make it possible to vote in municipal referenda using registration envelopes in-person at local government polling stations in cases where the electronic systems do not work or cannot be used for cybersecurity reasons. It will be possible to initiate a municipal referendum as of 1 September 2024 electronically. The compromise expedites the introduction of municipal referenda, which the Interior Ministry had proposed to postpone until 2026, accelerating the possibilities for participation in decision-making on local issues.
November 2023 | Parliament votes to allow same-sex civil unions
In a final reading, the Parliament adopted legislation to recognise same-sex partnerships for the first time. The legislation allows partners to visit each other in hospital, to provide consent for each other’s medical treatment, and expands access to social security and tax benefits for same-sex couples. Civil society noted that there is more work to be done, since the changes do not include the right to adopt children or for partners to inherit from each other. The legislation, submitted by the Ministry of Justice, follows a Constitutional Court ruling in 2020 which found that the state must provide legal protections to same-sex partners. According to the amendments, same-sex couples will be able to register partnerships from 1 July 2024. However, opposition parties have resisted the changes, and have set out to halt the legislation and collect the 154,241 signatures (representing 10 per cent of Latvia’s electorate) required to put it to a referendum.
October 2023 | Launch of first centralized government platform on disinformation
The government launched the first centralized government platform to collect reports on dis- and misinformation and share knowledge about common types of information manipulation. The platform allows users to report content distributed through channels such as social media platforms, online media, print media, TV, radio, and apps such as Whatsapp or Telegram. The reports are processed and evaluated by the Strategic Communication Coordination department of the State Chancellery, an advisory and oversight office in the executive branch, which can involve the responsible institutions as needed to prevent the spread of misinformation. According to the platform, reports can extend to suspicious content such as misleading information, fake news, fraud, hate speech, and propaganda. The platform also features educational materials seeking to build capacity to identify suspicious content, including a manual published in 2022 in cooperation with universities and academics.
August 2023 | Prime Minister announces his resignation
On 14 August, Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš unexpectedly announced his resignation after negotiations collapsed with his coalition government. The Prime Minister had pushed to expand the existing three-party ruling coalition to include the Union of Greens and Farmers and the Progressive party, in order to “regain dynamism in the work of the government.” The move was resisted by Kariņš’s coalition partners, the populist right-wing National Alliance and the United List. On 11 August, the Prime Minister collapsed the existing coalition after both partners rejected his proposal for a cabinet reshuffle. Kariņš had initially signalled that he would continue in his post before he suddenly notified President Edgars Rinkēvičs of his intention to resign along with his cabinet, and invited his centre-right New Unity party to nominate a new candidate for Prime Minister. The candidate will face a parliamentary vote of confidence and will be tasked with forming a government. Kariņš had served as Prime Minister since 2019.
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