Rokpelnis: Saeima MPs vote by conscience, not by instruction

Harijs Rokpelnis, leader of the Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS) faction in the Saeima, has pushed back against accusations that his faction violated the coalition agreement by voting to send opposition-proposed amendments to the Constitution (Satversme) to committee.

Rokpelnis explained that when Saeima members vote in parliament, they act according to their own convictions and are not legally bound by any instructions — including ones that might be implied by a coalition cooperation agreement.

Background of the dispute

The criticism arose from a vote on whether to advance opposition-initiated constitutional amendments to the relevant Saeima committee for further review. Some politicians characterized the vote as a possible departure from the coalition partners' mutual understanding, but Rokpelnis rejected that interpretation, pointing to lawmakers' constitutional right to vote according to their own conscience.

His remarks underline the principle that, within Latvia's parliamentary system, every deputy remains free in their individual decisions regardless of party or coalition position, and that coalition agreements do not, on their own, create legally binding voting instructions for individual representatives.