While recognising the overall merits of the reform, President Levits emphasised the need fine tune some of the details. Meeting focused on comments of the President of Latvia submitted in an official letter to the Saeima committee. These comments mostly concern issues linked to impact of the regional reform on identity, local community representation and electoral alliances for municipal elections.
President Levits expressed his views regarding the identity and stressed the need to find ways of promoting the sustainability of historic and cultural regions (historical Latvian lands). He also added that after the reform ownership over particular municipality may be delegated to particular local government without disrupting the continuity of cultural and historical regions, including, for example, their representation at the Song and Dance Festival, nurturing of local dialects or key cultural and historic traditions. Support for the identity of these regions must extend beyond the reform. It was underlined that Cabinet of Ministers is currently working on transitional arrangements, including a strategy for cultural and historic regions of Latvia and support for cultural and historical identity.
President Levits said that local communities such as districts and cities should retain their functions and elected representatives, who would continue advocating for the local community on voluntary basis, after the reform. Egils Levits believes that by preserving local communities people will feel more attached to their settlements and more civically responsible for their development.
Egils Levits also urged to continue supporting electoral alliances after the reform. There should be a possibility to register such electoral lists for regional and large-city council elections. Electoral alliances would need to collect 1% of signatures from local population to get registered for election.
Members of the Saeima committee Artūrs Toms Plešs, Arvils Ašeradens, Jānis Dombrava, Andris Kazinovskis, Regīna Ločmele-Luņova and Viktors Valainis commented proposals of the President and shared their views on how these suggestions could be integrated into legislative proposal.
