On Tuesday, at the meeting of the Ogre County Council, former deputy chairman Andris Krauja (National Alliance) was elected chairman of the council, reports LETA.
Fourteen deputies voted for Krauja, one was against, and two abstained. Seventeen out of 23 deputies participated in the meeting.
Krauja was the only candidate for the position of chairman of the council. Opposition deputy Dace Klavina ("New Unity") proposed the candidacy of Gints Siviņš (National Alliance), but Siviņš declined to participate.
It was previously reported that an extraordinary meeting of the Ogre County Council was convened for Tuesday, during which the election of the chairman and his deputy was planned. The meeting was called after council chairman Egils Helmanis announced his resignation.
As reported, the Health Inspectorate had previously checked the validity of the sick leaves issued to the mayor of Ogre. On Monday, the program "TV3 News" reported that the sick leave was deemed justified, and no violations in the actions of the medical staff were found.
Last week, on January 29, a meeting of the Ogre County Council was held, which was conducted by Helmanis himself after a long break. At the beginning of the meeting, the mayor announced that he had returned to fulfilling his duties.
On the same day, the Minister for Smart Administration and Regional Development Raimonds Čudars ("New Unity") demanded that Helmanis explain why he was performing the duties of mayor without the legally required access to state secrets. The minister gave five working days to provide explanations.
Later, Helmanis stated to the LETA agency that he was gradually filling out the necessary documents to obtain access to state secrets.
On Tuesday morning, following Helmanis's resignation announcement, the executive director of the municipality, Peteris Shpakovskis, informed the LETA agency that he was unaware of Helmanis applying for access.
After the municipal elections last summer, Helmanis was elected mayor of Ogre on June 27, 2025. Less than a month later, on July 16, public relations representatives of the council reported that the day before, Helmanis had been injured during shelling in Ukraine, without specifying the details of the incident or the nature of the injuries.
After that, Helmanis ended up "on sick leave" and remained the only head of a municipality in Latvia who had not applied for access to state secrets, although he promised to fill out the application "as soon as he recovered his health."
Opposition representatives in the Ogre County Council doubted the validity of the sick leave, as the politician was seen in the council building and on television even during his official incapacity. The opposition also unsuccessfully tried to achieve his resignation, arguing that it was due to his prolonged absence.
