Around 30 Members Leave Latvia's “For Latvia's Development”, Including Mārupe Mayor Aivars Osītis

Aivars Osītis, chair of the Mārupe municipality council near Riga, has left the Latvian political party “For Latvia's Development” (LA). Five other council members and the party's whole Mārupe branch went with him, roughly 30 people in total, according to Latvian Television. The party failed to win seats in parliament, the Saeima, at the latest election, which forms the backdrop to the departures.

Osītis's explanation

Osītis said the decision was not driven by the Saeima election results or a change in the party's ideology. He said the decisive factor was that he did not want to be in the same political force as certain individuals. He has declined to name them.

Changes in party leadership

The LA board is also changing. Former defence minister Artis Pabriks and Vjačeslavs Dombrovskis, a former economics minister and former minister of education and science, have decided to step down from it. Both cite their work duties as the reason.

Pūce's assessment

Party leader Juris Pūce rejected the idea that the situation points to deeper rifts within the party. He suggested people are leaving because the party did not achieve the results it hoped for in the Saeima election, and some members may have lost faith in its future. “Such a process is natural. We have not had good election results,” he said. In his view, some of those elected to local councils are considering leaving because they do not believe the party can recover.

Election background

In the 15th Saeima election, “For Latvia's Development” received 2.18% of the vote and missed out on parliament for the second election in a row. The result will nevertheless allow the party to keep receiving state funding.