Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics has proposed amendments to simplify the procedure to initiate public referendums, LETA reports. He proposed halving the number of signatures needed to 5% of those who took part in the last parliamentary election and shortening the time to collect signatures to six months. If the 5% threshold is met, the Central Election Commission (CVK) would then launch a 30-day campaign to reach 10% of all eligible voters. Current law requires signatures from 10% of the total electorate or more than 150,000 voters to initiate a referendum. The proposed amendments would come into force in 2027. All campaigns for a referendum have failed since the current law came into force in 2012. Rinkevics noted that the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, had not considered any draft law suggested by voters since 2013, which he said “raised doubts” about the ability of voters to initiate legislation. He argued that the changes would make politicians more accountable.
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