The President of Latvia, Valdis Zatlers, on Saturday moved to dissolve the Latvian parliament. He took these steps after the parliament blocked a corruption probe being led by the judicial branch of the Latvian government. 

President Zatlers historic speech emphasized the importance of respecting each branch of government and he highlighted that this was not the first time in the recent past where the legislature has been at odds with the judicial branch. President Zatlers stated, “Saeima took a vote which represented a siren that warns us of a serious conflict between the legislative and judicial branches of government – two of the three branches upon which our state is based. The Saeima demonstrated a lack of respect and trust in the competence of the judicial system, and that, sadly, was not the first time.”

President Zatlers said that his actions are necessary to give the people of Latvia the power to decide their future as they also made significant sacrifices in the recent recession. He stated, “For that reason, I am appearing on this live broadcast to inform you about Instruction No. 2 of the President of the Republic of Latvia. On the basis of Article 48 of the Latvian Constitution, I am proposing the dissolution of the Saeima. ”

More about the emerging situation can be found at the President’s web pages:

http://www.president.lv/pk/content/?cat_id=605&art_id=17537