Court of first instance sentences Olaine council member Vurčs to community service

The Riga District Court, a court of first instance, has found Andris Vurčs, a member of the Olaine municipal council in Latvia, guilty of knowingly providing false information to a municipal election commission. According to the report, he was sentenced to community service. The verdict has not yet entered into force, so it can still be appealed.

What was false

When running in municipal elections, Vurčs stated that he had completed secondary education by graduating from Olaine Secondary School No. 1. The court's finding is different: at that school he obtained only basic education, not secondary education.

A municipal election commission is the body that handles the data submitted by candidates and organises elections in the given municipality. It was this body that received the false information about Vurčs's education.

What happens next

Whether the verdict becomes final depends on whether it is appealed. Until it enters into legal force, it is not conclusive. The source gives no further details on how the case will proceed.