Latvia’s Central Election Commission (CVK) has registered a signature campaign for holding a referendum on changing the country’s state-funded pension system, LSM reports. The populist opposition party, Latvia First (LPV), initiated the referendum campaign after the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, rejected the party’s legislative proposal. The referendum campaign is very unlikely to succeed, however.
Under LPV’s proposal, people would be able to withdraw or transfer their accumulated pension before retirement. Opponents argue that the proposal amounts to short-term populism and warn that the changes could lead to long-term problems. Latvia’s financial sector, the Bank of Latvia, and the Ministry of Finance oppose the proposed changes. Similar changes have been implemented in Estonia and Lithuania.