Plakans: Election of NEPLP chair and deputy chair was undemocratic

A member of Latvia's National Electronic Mass Media Council (NEPLP), Andis Plakans, has publicly criticized how the council's leadership positions were filled. According to Plakans, in elections held in early June, Aurēlija Ieva Druviete was elected chairwoman while Ieva Kalderauska was elected her deputy through a process he describes as an undemocratic mutual arrangement — meaning the two effectively secured each other's positions rather than being elected through fair competition.

Role of the institution

NEPLP is the Latvian body responsible for overseeing electronic mass media, including both public and private broadcasters. Its leadership is determined through internal elections among council members, which makes the fairness and transparency of that voting process directly relevant to public trust in the institution's work.

The nature of the criticism

Plakans' statement points to internal disagreement within the NEPLP council over how leadership roles were distributed following the June vote. In his view, an arrangement in which Druviete and Kalderauska each supported the other's candidacy does not meet the democratic standards expected of such internal elections.

No response from Druviete or Kalderauska to the allegation is currently available, and it remains unclear whether the matter will be addressed at any formal level. The dispute suggests underlying tension within the NEPLP council regarding the distribution of leadership positions and the transparency of its internal decision-making process.