| Latvia |
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A referendum on whether the Saeima should be dissolved early was held in Latvia on 23 July 2011.[1] President Valdis Zatlers used his parliamentary dissolution power for the first time in the history of Latvia.[2] A "yes/no" vote was held and the referendum passed with 94.3% support.
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President Valdis Zatlers called the referendum under the power given to him by the constitution on 28 May 2011.[2] Zatlers called the referendum in response to the Saeima's refusal to sanction a search at the home of MP Ainārs Šlesers, leader of Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way and a former cabinet minister.[3] According to the current legal procedure, the referendum on the Saeima's dissolution had to take place no later than two months after the President's decree.[4]
The Constitution of Latvia foresaw that if the people had not supported Zatlers' decision, he would have had to resign from the presidency. This could have created a judicial conundrum, however, since Zatlers' current term expired on 7 July and the Saeima held a presidential election (in which Zatlers was also a candidate) on 2 June.[5] As Zatlers was not reelected, however, this conundrum was avoided.
Polls indicated that the referendum would pass by a strong margin.[6]
The voting ran from 7:00 to 22:00 EEST and 44.72% of the electorate had voted.[7] Preliminary results on the evening of the vote showed 94% support.[8][9][10]
| Latvian parliamentary dissolution referendum, 2011[11] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Choice | Votes | Percentage |
| Yes | 650,518 | 94.30% |
| No | 37,829 | 5.48% |
| Invalid or blank votes | 1,476 | 0.21% |
| Total votes | 689,823 | 100.00% |
| Voter turnout | 44.73% | |
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