Latvia and Latvian News

Latvia officially the Republic of Latvia is in the Baltic Region( countries that have shorelines along the Baltic Sea) of Northern Europe.
The Republic of Latvia was founded on Nov 18, 1918. It was occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union  between 1940–1941 and 1945–1991 and by Nazi Germany between 1941–1945.
The peaceful '' Singing Revolution''(commonly used name for events between 1987 and 1991 that led to the restoration of the independence of Estonia,Latvia and Lithuania )  and '' Baltic Chain '' (a peaceful political demonstration that occurred on Aug 23, 1989 where about  two million people joined their hands to form a human chain spanning over 600 kms (370 miles) across the three Baltic States - Estonia,Latvia and Lithuania  Republics of the Soviet Union) demonstration  led to the independence of the Baltic States. Latvia declared the restoration of its de facto independence on Aug21, 1991.


Country Profile
Capital                                Riga
Official Language                Latvian
Population                          2 Million
Currency                            Lats
Ethnic Groups                    62 % Latvians;27% Russians and 11% Others(Belarusian,Ukrainians and Poles)


Government
Latvian Parliament Saeima is Unicameral having 100 members elected directly for a 4 year term(normally on the first Saturday of October).The word "Saeima" meaning "a gathering, a meeting, a council"

The President is elected by the Saeima in a separate election, also held every four years. The president appoints a Prime Minister who, together with his Cabine forms the executive branch of the government, which has to receive a confidence vote by the Saeima.



Latvian Presidential Election - June 2,2011
Incumbent President Valdis Zatlers(Zatler's Reform Party) and Andris Berzins(Union of Greens and Farmers Party) were the candidates.
In the first round, Bērziņš got 50 votes in favour and 48 against, while Zatlers got 43 in favour and 55 against (99 lawmakers cast votes, but one was invalid), meaning none was elected;a second round was held later on the same day, with Bērziņš winning the election 53 to 44 votes in favour; Zatlers got 41 to 56 votes.
President of Latvia Andris Berzin assumed office on July 8,2011

Latvian Parliamentary Elections - Sep 17,2011

The election was held following the country's first Parliamentary Dissolution Referendum held on July 23,2011(last parliament election held  in Oct 2010)
The Parliament Election resulted in Harmony Centre winning 31 Seats(29 seats in 2010) and was the first time a pro- Russian party had won the most seats in a Latvian election
The newly formed Zatler's Reform Party led by ex-president Valdis Zatlers who had triggered the dissolution referendum in May got 22seats and

Unity, previously the largest party, fell to third, with 20 seats

Right wing National Alliance got 14 seats

Union of Greens and Farmers got 13 seats

Zatler's Reform Party, Unity and National Alliance formed a coalition and  the three signed a coalition agreement on Oct 11,2011 with Valdis Dombrovskis as Prime Minister.

Valdis Dombrovskis has been in the office of PM since Feb 26,2009(following the resignation of Ivars Godmanis President  Valdis Zatlers nominated Valdis Dombrovskis as successor to Ivar Godmanis)















The new government was confirmed by the Saeima on October 25,2011.However,a few days before the government formation, six MPs split from Zatlers' Reform Party; they still supported the new government.




Referendum Rejects Russian As Second Language

Latvian voters in a referendum on Saturday Feb 18,2012 resoundingly reject Russian as a second national language.With over 93 percent of ballots counted, 75 percent of voters said they were against Russian as a national language, according to the Central Election Commission results.

  
Minority Russian Population in Latvia
The Russians who spearheaded the referendum admitted they had no chance at winning the plebiscite, they at least hope the approximate 25 percent of support will force Latvia’s center-right government to begin a dialogue with national minorities.

Majority Latvian Population in Latvia
Many Latvians still consider that Moscow attempts to wield influence in Latvia through the ethnic Russian minority.For ethnic Latvians, the referendum was a brazen attempt to encroach on Latvia’s independence, which was restored two decades ago after a half-century of occupation by the Soviet Union following World War II.

Current Latvian Law in force
According to the current law, anyone who moved to Latvia during the Soviet occupation, or was born to parents who moved there, is considered a noncitizen and must pass the Latvian language exam in order to become a citizen.

Non-Latvians in Latvia
Hundreds of thousands of Russians, Belarussians and Ukrainians moved to Latvia and the neighboring Baltic republics during the population transfers of the Soviet regime. Many of them never learned Latvian and were denied citizenship when Latvia regained independence, meaning they don’t have the right to vote or work in government.
There are approximately 300,000 noncitizens in Latvia.