The Minister of Smart Management and Regional Development, Raimonds Chudars, promises not to delay the decision regarding the chair of the Rezekne council, Alexander Bartashevich ("Together for Latvia"/LPM), who has not received the necessary access to state secrets.
As the minister stated in the program "Morning Panorama" on Latvian television, the law imposes on him the obligation to request clarifications from the chair of the council who has not received access, if he does not resign himself but continues to perform his official duties.
In response to the question of whether Bartashevich's clarifications could play any role in this situation, Chudars said that it is difficult for him to judge at this point, but the law provides for such a procedure. "The circumstances are obvious, at the same time clarifications need to be obtained within the established timeframe," the minister said.
Chudars promised not to delay the decision-making on this issue. He will wait for clarifications from Bartashevich until the beginning of next week and will make a decision immediately after the deadline for their submission.
The issue may be considered on February 10, the minister said, adding that no messages have been received from the mayor of Rezekne so far.
As reported, due to the fact that the Security Police (SP) denied Bartashevich a special permit for state secrets, the minister demanded his resignation.
If Bartashevich does not agree to resign, he must provide the minister with written clarifications within five working days, after which the minister will make a decision on further steps.
The agency LETA has not yet been able to contact Bartashevich, but his deputy and a member of the party represented by the mayor, Alexey Stec ("Together for Latvia"/LPM), reported that the situation is planned to be discussed at a faction meeting soon.
"We will make a decision collectively," Stec replied when asked whether the faction would demand the mayor's resignation.
As reported, Bartashevich is accused in a criminal case of disclosing restricted-access information and of intentionally failing to report in his declarations as a public official information about property acquired abroad and other large income over a period of 16 years. The Vidzeme District Court in Gulbene plans to continue considering Bartashevich's case on March 24.
Earlier, the mayor of Jurmala, Gatis Truksnis (Latvian Green Party), also did not receive access to work with state secrets and resigned.
