Minister demands explanations from the mayor of Ogre regarding his work without access to state secrets 0 6

As reported to the LETA agency by the minister's advisor on communication, Sabine Spurke, according to the Law on Local Governments, the chairman of the council is required to provide an explanation within five working days from the date of receiving the request. Failure to provide an explanation within the established time frame is interpreted as a refusal to provide it.

The Law on Local Governments stipulates that local governments must send a request to the competent state security institution for the provision of special access to state secrets for the chairman of the council and his deputy no later than one month after their election to office.

The Ministry of Smart Governance and Regional Development today established that the chairman of the Ogre County Council, Helmanis, is performing his official duties despite lacking special access to state secrets.

Today, a meeting of the Ogre County Council is taking place, which is being chaired by Helmanis after a long break. At the beginning of the meeting, the mayor of Ogre stated that he has returned and resumed his work duties.

Helmanis was elected mayor of Ogre on June 27, 2025, after elections held last summer. Less than a month later, on July 16, council representatives for public relations reported that Helmanis had been injured during shelling in Ukraine the day before, without providing details about the circumstances of the incident and the harm done to the politician's health.

After this incident, Helmanis found himself "on sick leave" and remained the only local government leader in Latvia who had not submitted an application for access to state secrets, although he promised to fill out the relevant form "as soon as he recovers his health."

Opposition representatives in the Ogre Council questioned the validity of the sick leave, as the politician was seen in the council and on television during the official incapacity period. The opposition also unsuccessfully attempted to secure his resignation, citing his prolonged absence.

In December 2025, opposition deputies expressed dissatisfaction that since his election, Helmanis had served as chairman of the council for less than one month. Since July 18, he had been away — first using compensatory leave after a business trip, then vacation, and from August 25, he was on sick leave. Meanwhile, the authors of the request claimed that for November, Helmanis received over 4000 euros as compensation, and it was unclear to them for what duties this bonus was paid if the mayor was not actually performing his functions.

In January 2026, it became known that the Health Inspectorate had begun an investigation into the validity of the sick leave of the chairman of the Ogre County Council, Helmanis, after receiving a corresponding complaint.