Collection of Signatures
In the event, 11,095 signatures were initially collected and positively verified. Collection of further signatures then took place from March 12 to April 10, 2008 in 660 designated places, of which 40 were abroad. In total, counting the initial signatures, 217,567 voters supported the introduction of the draft amendments. A further 6,814 signatures were disqualified. In the vast majority of cases this was due to citizens signing more than once. However, 35 were disqualified due to not being Latvian citizens, 22 on the grounds of insanity, 62 who were deceased or could not be identified and 1 person who was under the age of 18 upon signing.
As the total number of valid signatures represented 14.6% of the electorate, the amendments were duly presented by the president to parliament, which rejected them on 5 June 2008. Accordingly under the terms of the referendum law, a referendum had to be held not earlier than one month and not later than two months after rejection.
Read more about this topic: Latvian Constitutional Referendum, 2008
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