This year's local government elections were the first after which council leaders are required to obtain access to state secrets.
As explained by the chairman of the parliamentary commission on national security, Ainars Latkovskis ("New Unity"), this requirement is important because the civil defense plan includes a military section, the content of which the mayor needs to know in case of a possible invasion.
According to the Latvian Television program "De facto", the Security Police (SP) has currently completed checks on approximately one third of the executive officials of local governments. The sign reading "Chairman of the Council" at Gatis Truksnis's office (Latvian Green Party) now looks symbolic. Although he resigned last week, Truksnis can still be found in the mayor's office - he became the first leader to lose his position due to a denial of access to state secrets.
"I am denied access to state secrets on the grounds that I was convicted of committing an intentional crime," explained Truksnis, who was previously found guilty in a case of official forgery related to a business trip. This conviction became the formal reason for the denial. However, as noted by the SP, the check analyzes not only the conviction but also operational information, access to which is classified.
"This is a very extensive job. Some may think that the SP simply checks administrative penalties in the database. In fact, this is a complex operational task that requires the collection and analysis of information," said Latkovskis.
According to the SP report for 2024, in most cases, the denial of access to state secrets is related to a whole range of factors. Among the most frequent reasons are regular trips to Russia or Belarus (as well as to other countries supporting Russia); committed crimes, including abuse of office; alcohol, drug, or gambling addiction; and other circumstances.
Truksnis was convicted under Article 327 of the Criminal Code. However, having a criminal record is not always an insurmountable obstacle to obtaining access. The chairman of the Preili District Council, Aldis Adamovich (joint list of the Latgale Party / "New Unity" / "For the Development of Latvia"), was convicted more than three years ago for fraud related to compensation for apartment rent and official forgery, but has still not received an answer as to whether he will be granted access to state secrets.
