Baltic woes

The Latvian parliament decided not to re-elect the country's prosecutor-general, Janis Maizitis, for a third five-year term, dealing a blow to efforts to fight corruption in the country.

The vote over Maizitis' candidateship has also lead to accusations that many of the parliamentarians who voted against him were acting on behalf of Latvia's so-called oligarchs, against many of whom Maizitis had brought cases.

More than 70 of the 100 members of parliament had promised to support Maizitis, who was seen as the leading candidate for the post. However, fewer than half gave their support in a secret ballot.

Maizitis had little to say about the outcome of the vote: "I don't know why the members of parliament didn't re-elect me. They should explain why. None of the MPs has publicly stated that I was an unacceptable candidate. I had met with a number of parliamentary groups. The MPs asked me some questions and I answered them."

Presidential support

Latvian President Valdis Zatlers called the rejection of Maizitis' candidacy without due debate before the vote "unacceptable". In a statement issued by his press office, Zatlers reiterated his support for Maizitis' candidacy.

"Nobody even talked about the Prosecutor General's suitability for the position. If there are political arguments against his candidacy, the public should be informed."

Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis also came out in support of Maizitis, saying it was crystal-clear that some members of Parliament, who pledged their support for Maizitis’s candidacy before the vote, lied to the public.

"It indicates that those parliamentarians are two-faced and are unworthy of being respected as members of Parliament," he said in a statement.

Maizitis 'suited' for job

Sarmite Elerte from the Meierovica Society for Progressive Change, which campaigns for transparency in politics, says Maizitis had performed well in his post and deserved re-election.

"The present prosecutor-general in Latvia is politically independent and uncompromising," she says. "The prosecutor's office has succeeded in bringing several cases of political corruption to court. Therefore, I think that his candidacy is suited for this post. Until the MPs are able to substantiate their decision to reject Maizitis, no new candidate should be put forward."

Elerte alleges that Latvian powerbrokers such as Aivars Lembergs, the mayor of Ventspils who currently faces bribery and money laundering charges, helped engineer the outcome of the parliamentary vote in an act of revenge against the prosecutor-general.

Parties 'serve' powerful

Political scientist Lolita Cigane says many of Latvia's political parties were in fact established by the oligarchs.

"And, of course, they create these parties with certain aims - to maintain their economic power and to also strengthen their political clout," she says. "So in that respect political parties are servants of oligarchic interests in Latvia."

The outcome of the ballot has angered some government officials, prosecutors and the general public, pushing more than 3000 people to sign an online petition urging the country's chief justice to re-nominate Maizitis for the post. It also calls for an open vote in parliament.

Maizitis has said he was ready to stand in a second ballot, but the chief justice has yet to decide on whether he will nominate him again.

Author: Gederts Gelzis/dfm

Editor: Rob Turner