Liberals win in Latvian municipal elections, gain new minister

ALDE Party members Latvijas Attīstībai and Kustiba “Par!” ran in the Latvian municipal elections on 5 June, winning in total more than 90 seats at the local level.

For Kustiba “Par!”, this was the first time running in local elections, with a candidate list in a limited number of municipalities only. Party leader Daniels Pavluts reacted on Twitter to the news of his party securing nine representatives in seven municipalities.

“Thank you to all voters who voted for the change on local level! We are no longer just the party of Riga. These elections were about stability, but we were able to swim against the tide and become stronger in Jelgava, Ogre, Ādaži, Cēsis, Liepāja and Ropaži,” he said.

Latvijas Attīstībai secured 84 representatives across 24 local governments. These elections were the first time that the party had a range of candidates for local elections, which also led to the historic result at municipal level. Co-chair of the party, Ivar Ijabs MEP commented on the result:

"This is a historic moment for Latvijas Attīstībai because we managed to transform the party that was represented in the Parliament and Riga City Council, to the party that is represented nationwide. This is a big responsibility. We are satisfied with the results of the election; at the same time, we take the work that is ahead of us very seriously.”

Moreover, on 3 June, leader of the alliance Attīstībai/Par! Marija Golubeva was confirmed as the new Latvian Minister of Interior. She is the second female politician to hold this particular office, and her priorities will include structural reforms in the home affairs system, increasing civil protection and police response capacity, the quality of pre-trial investigation and police education and training, prevention and investigation of hate crimes and domestic violence, prevention of child and youth offenses as an alternative to punishment.

′′My main task in this job will increase respect, trust and cooperation between the internal system and society in general. Creating modern and good working and growth conditions for all those 13 thousand people serving their country in domestic services," Golubeva said.