The Riga City Council has annulled the deputy mandate of Alexey Roslikov (Stability!), who is in Belarus and has not attended local government meetings in recent months.
The Riga City Council on Thursday decided to strip Alexey Roslikov of his deputy mandate. The basis for this decision was that the deputy had missed more than half of the council meetings without a valid reason over the course of three months.
Forty-one deputies voted for the annulment of the mandate, while only five were against it.
This procedure is provided for by the law "On the Status of Local Government Deputies," which allows the council to revoke the powers of deputies who systematically do not participate in the work of the local government.
According to the Central Election Commission, the next candidate from the Stability! party to receive the deputy mandate is Andrey Kozlov.
The situation surrounding Roslikov has become one of the loudest political stories in Riga in recent weeks. It was previously reported that the politician had traveled to Belarus and attempted to connect to the council meetings remotely.
However, the council leadership refused to allow such connections, stating that the participation of a deputy from Belarus poses security risks. The local government emphasized that Belarus is recognized as an aggressor state, and any remote connection from its territory is considered unacceptable from a security standpoint.
Importantly, alongside the political scandal, a criminal case against Roslikov is also ongoing. He is accused of inciting national and ethnic hatred.
Earlier, the Riga City Court changed Roslikov's preventive measure, ordering his arrest and declaring him wanted. Following this, the court proceedings were suspended until he is located.
Roslikov himself confirmed that he is in Belarus and stated that he is not returning to Latvia due to concerns for his safety. According to him, he allegedly received threats over the phone, and the Security Police offered him temporary accommodation in a safe house.
The politician believes that the criminal case against him is politically motivated.
Against the backdrop of his departure to Belarus and being declared wanted, the stripping of his mandate has effectively become the final stage of his exit from Latvian politics — at least for now.
