About Saeima (Parliament) Elections – A Look Back and Ahead

About Saeima (Parliament) Elections – A Look Back and Ahead

Jānis Peniķis Politics in Latvia since the restoration of independence has been marked, on the one hand, by generally calm, free, and fair elections and orderly functioning of government, and, on the other, by abysmally low levels of public confidence in political institutions, an unstable, rapidly changing cabinet of ministers, and political parties tiny in membership but rich in financial resources. Unlike other post-Soviet states, Latvia did not adopt a new constitution or electoral law, restoring, instead, the original laws adopted in 1922. The article traces the historical roots and functioning of the electoral system in the 1922–1934 parliamentary era, finding numerous parallels with the period since 1991. The author concludes that, while no radical constitutional change is in order, the revitalization of parliamentary democracy demands a thorough change in election laws, and argues for the adoption of a mixed-member electoral system.