Riga City Council member resigns citing severe burnout

Riga City Council approved at an extraordinary session on Thursday the early termination of the mandate of deputy Mārtiņš Eņģelis, a member of the Progressives party. Eņģelis himself requested to be released from his duties for personal reasons and explained his decision in detail on social media.

Burnout since May

Eņģelis said the decision stemmed from severe, unresolved burnout that has affected him since at least May this year. He attributed it to a heavy workload in political, communication and municipal duties, combined with a complicated and prolonged change of residence and poorly managed personal matters.

The deputy acknowledged that he currently lacks the capacity to fulfill his committee and commission responsibilities as responsibly and fully as voters, colleagues and residents expect. He said he struggles to concentrate on his direct duties and described the situation as a vicious circle: growing fatigue increases the pressure to accomplish more, which in turn deepens the exhaustion and leads to further mistakes. Eņģelis added that he has lost the sense of joy and fulfillment he once found in council work, and apologized to those who voted for him.

Mieriņš set to take the seat

According to the Central Election Commission, the next candidate on the Progressives' list is Mārtiņš Mieriņš. He confirmed to the LETA news agency that he has agreed to accept the deputy mandate. Mieriņš previously served on the city council in an earlier term, when he was known under the surname Zvejnieks.