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Latvians vote for dissolution of parliament

Other News Materials 24 July 2011 08:16 (UTC +04:00)
Latvians voted overwhelmingly in favour of dissolving their parliament and holding early elections, in a referendum called by the former president to fight corruption, official data showed.
Latvians vote for dissolution of parliament

Latvians voted overwhelmingly in favour of dissolving their parliament and holding early elections, in a referendum called by the former president to fight corruption, official data showed.

With nearly two-thirds of the ballots counted, the motion was on track to take 95 per cent of votes, the Central Election Commission said on its website late Saturday, dpa reported.

Around 44 per cent of the nation's 1.5 million eligible voters took part in the vote.

Valdis Zatlers, president until earlier this month, called in May for a referendum to dissolve the Saeima, or parliament, after complaining that the sitting lawmakers were blocking anti-corruption initiatives.

A week after using his powers to call the referendum, Zatlers lost a parliamentary vote for president to Andris Berzins, a former head of one of the country's largest banks.

Following the referendum, the next parliamentary elections were expected to be scheduled for September 17.

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