Latvian Constitutional Referendum, 2008

Latvian Constitutional Referendum, 2008

A constitutional referendum to amend the constitution of Latvia in order to allow one-tenth of the total registered electorate to initiate a popular referendum to dissolve the Latvian parliament was held in Latvia on 2 August 2008.

The referendum on this issue was triggered when the Government of Latvia voted against an opposition motion to adopt this change to the constitution, which resulted in a referendum in Latvia by law. President Valdis Zatlers and the left-wing opposition were in favour of the referendum, while the government was against it, arguing that it would cause even more instability in a country which has seen 13 governments in the 18 years since independence. At least half of the total registered electorate (i.e. more than 757,607) had to approve the referendum proposal in order for it to be valid.

Preliminary results indicated that an overwhelming 96% of voters had voted in favour of the amendment, although only about 40% of the electorate voted in favour, which means the referendum is invalid. It is expected that the strong result, while failing to directly change the constitution, might press politicians to adopt a similar measure nonetheless.

If passed, the amendment would have represented the first time in an EU country that voters would have been able to dissolve their national parliament - a right traditionally reserved for the head of state.