Opinion: Saeima's MP oath needs real accountability and penalties

On November 3, the newly elected Saeima will hold its first working day, during which more than a hundred deputies will once again recite the oath pledging loyalty to Latvia, its Constitution and its laws. According to the article's author — a National Guard member, mountaineer and professor — this oath currently functions more as a declaration than a binding commitment, since breaking it carries no defined legal consequence as long as no actual law is violated.

Comparing it to the National Guard oath

The author contrasts the deputy's oath with the oath taken by National Guard (Zemessardze) members, which since 2010 has been identical to the oath sworn by National Armed Forces soldiers. Unlike a deputy, a Guard member pledges to spare neither strength, health nor life in defending the state, and cannot invoke personal beliefs or refuse an order. Breaching discipline or the oath can lead to criminal liability, and in wartime even a court martial.

A deputy, by contrast, faces at most a reprimand from the Mandate Committee or voters' disapproval at the next election for failing to keep a promise. A deputy cannot be dismissed, tried, or stripped of salary for breaking an oath unless an actual law has been broken — and deputies additionally enjoy immunity not available to ordinary citizens.

Proposed solutions

The author notes that deputies earn a gross monthly salary of 4,330 euros plus housing and transport compensation, while National Guard members serve voluntarily for symbolic pay, sacrificing their free time. He argues it would only be fair to add a clause to the deputy's oath specifying concrete consequences for breaking it — such as a pledge to never run for office again, to repay the salary received, or to perform 100 days of unpaid community service in areas facing labor shortages, such as hospitals or disaster relief.

The author concludes that laws should build in a mechanism making such sanctions unavoidable, since experience shows people tend to act responsibly mainly when consequences affect them directly.