On Thursday, February 13, the Saeima adopted in the final reading the Law on the Dismissal of the Riga City Council, which provides for the dismissal of the Riga City Council and the appointment of an interim administration.

The Saeima has dismissed the Riga City Council because it is incapable of decision-making, considering that a quorum was not obtained in three successive Council meetings.

The Law indicates another justification for the dismissal of the Riga City Council, namely, that the Riga Municipality permits unlawful actions and does not fulfil the autonomous function of a municipality established in, among others, the Waste Management Law and the Law on Local Governments, that is, organising municipal waste management.

In the summary, the authors of the Law note that, even during the declared state of emergency, the Riga City Council has not ensured adequate domestic waste collection services to the residents of the city, which is why the dismissal of the Council was recommended, as stipulated in the Law on Local Governments.

Following the dissolution of the Riga City Council, a temporary Council administration will have to be appointed. The planned appointees are Edvīns Balševics, State Secretary of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, as the  Head; Artis Lapiņš, Head of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Finance, as his Deputy; and Aleksejs Remesovs, Deputy Head of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Justice, as a member of administration.

Pursuant to the Law, the interim administration fulfils the functions of the local government council set out in the laws and regulations and ensures the continuity of work of the local government institutions, as well as its financial and economic functioning. The Head of the administration performs the duties set out for the Chair of Riga City Council.

The functioning of the interim administration will be ensured and financed from the budget of the Riga Municipality, and the remuneration for the administration will correspond to that of the Chair of the Riga City Council, the Deputy Chair and heads of committees proportionally to the time worked.

The Law stipulates that the elections of the new Riga City Council shall take place on the first Saturday two months since the day the Law on the Dismissal of the Municipality enters into force. The Central Election Commission shall announce these elections no later than on the fifth day after the new Law enters into force. As set out in the summary of the Law, preliminary estimates of the Riga City Election Commission indicate that holding an extraordinary election in the Riga Municipality in 2020 may cost 862 700 euros.

The dismissal of the Riga City Council was launched because there have been repeated and systematic violations in the field of waste management throughout the work of the current Council convocation. Residents of the city have complained about the situation, and the violations have also been pointed out by state institutions, such as the State Audit Office and the Specialized Prosecution Office for Organized Crime and Other Branches, as stated in the summary of the Law.

The Law on the Dismissal of Riga City Council will enter into force on the next day after its promulgation.

Saeima Press Service