Saeima speaker hopes to approve new government and committees on Tuesday

Edvards Smiltēns, speaker of the Saeima, Latvia’s parliament, said he hoped the new government and the Saeima’s standing committees could be approved as early as Tuesday, 17 November. “Today, tomorrow and the day after there is intensive work,” said Smiltēns, of United List, adding that Tuesday was not a fixed deadline, LSM, the Latvian public broadcaster, reported.

How it would work

If everything goes to plan, the Saeima presidium will call two extraordinary sittings on Tuesday. In the first, MPs will be elected to committees, which will choose their chairs during breaks; in the second, the Saeima will vote on the new government. Smiltēns said it could all be done in a single day.

He said it would be symbolic if both the government and parliament were fully at work by 18 November, Latvia’s independence day. But quality mattered more than speed, he said: the government had to be built to last a full four years. If Tuesday proves too soon, the vote will take place later in the week, after the 18 November holiday.

No committees yet

The 15th Saeima first met on 3 November but has yet to form its standing committees. That is not a delay: parliament’s rules of procedure set no deadline. In 2022 the previous Saeima approved the principles for its committees on 17 November and their membership on 23 November, more than three weeks after its first sitting. Until the committees exist, bills cannot be fully considered.

Smiltēns has discussed committee membership with almost every parliamentary group but has not said which group could chair which committee. United List has three priorities: the budget and finance committee; the defence, internal affairs and corruption prevention committee; and the economic affairs committee. Smiltēns said the budget committee should be chaired by the prime minister’s party so that the budget can pass smoothly.

He also said the opposition must be able to take full part in the work of parliament, including by chairing committees or subcommittees. Andris Kulbergs, the prime minister-designate, plans to announce his coalition by Saturday.