Saeima committee nominates Dita Remberga for Latvia's media regulator board
Saeima's Human Rights and Public Affairs Committee has nominated Dita Remberga, head of the media regulator's Monitoring Department, for a seat on Latvia's National Electronic Mass Media Council. Parliament is set to vote on her confirmation this week.
The Saeima's Human Rights and Public Affairs Committee on Tuesday nominated Dita Remberga, head of the Monitoring Department at the National Electronic Mass Media Council (NEPLP), to fill a vacant seat on the council's board. Her candidacy still requires confirmation in a full parliamentary session, expected this week.
Of nine original applicants, the committee put forward three names for a vote. Remberga was nominated by National Alliance MP Jānis Eglīts. Maija Armaņeva of the "Latvia First" party nominated Kristers Pļešakovs, executive director of the Latvian Broadcasting Association, on behalf of her faction, while Ieva Brante of the United List, after brief deliberation, nominated former politician Žanete Grende, now a board member of the Imants Ziedonis Museum Foundation.
Remberga's nomination won support from nine of the 11 committee members who voted.
Other candidates considered
Before the vote, the committee had interviewed all nine candidates, who shared views on the security of the information space, the proportionality of free-speech restrictions, the regulator's functions, digital platform development and cooperation with media outlets. Besides the three nominated, applicants included former Central Election Commission public relations specialist Līga Ādamsone, journalism lecturer Kārlis Dagilis, Latvian Press Publishers Association executive director Guntars Līcis, TV24 news service head Guntis Meisters, lawyer Jeļena Volkova, and Daiga Sproģe of the Society Integration Foundation's board.
Background
NEPLP board members are confirmed by the Saeima for five-year terms based on committee proposals. The seat became vacant after former NEPLP chairman Ivars Āboliņš announced in June he was stepping down to become parliamentary secretary at the Ministry of Culture under minister Nauris Puntulis. On the same day the Saeima approved Āboliņš's departure, the council's then-deputy chair, Aurēlija Ieva Druviete, was elected as the new chairwoman.
