Parliamentarians made a decision on the provocative public initiative.
Let us remind you that at the end of last year, a public initiative gathering 10,000 signatures was submitted to the Saeima regarding the deprivation of citizenship of the Republic of Latvia and the expulsion of disloyal residents from the country. Despite the provocative nature of this initiative, as many as 67 Saeima deputies supported it - they voted for the proposal to be sent for discussion to the Saeima's Defense and Internal Affairs Committee. And today, the committee discussed this initiative in substance. There was no sensation: experts reiterated previously voiced arguments against the initiative. Specifically, international law and European standards do not allow for the deprivation of citizenship from those who do not have another citizenship. In such cases, these individuals become stateless. Furthermore, it is not possible to expel a citizen or a permanent resident (non-citizen) from the country - this again contradicts both Latvia's international obligations and the Constitution.
As a result of the discussion, the majority of deputies voted not to promote this initiative further, effectively burying it. The committee does not plan to propose any new ideas in the Citizenship Law regarding the deprivation of Latvian citizenship 'for disloyalty.'
