In November, the Latvian parliament approved the law on cohabitation, which opens up the possibility for same-sex couples to register their cohabitation. Although opponents of the law have begun collecting signatures to repeal it in a referendum, it does not appear that the required number of signatures will be collected.
According to Andrejs Vaivars, representative of the Central Election Commission of Latvia, as of December 26, 16,170 signatures have been collected for the referendum, which is 10.5% of the number of signatures required, reports the Latvian broadcasting company LSM.
To hold a referendum it is necessary to collect a tenth of all voter signatures, or approximately 155,000 signatures. The collection of signatures began on December 7, and the deadline for collecting signatures is January 5, i.e. the signature phase of the initiative lasts only 30 days.
Latvian lawmakers approved the cohabitation bill on November 9. The law provides for the creation of a legal status for both same-sex and heterosexual couples who have entered into a cohabitation agreement. The law will come into force on July 1, 2024.
The bill was approved thanks to the government’s narrow majority in the Latvian parliament, and its adoption was preceded by a lively debate between legislators and society. Human rights activists supported the adoption of the bill, while the conservative opposition said the bill harms family values.
However, if the authors of the initiative manage to collect enough signatures to organize a referendum, according to Latvian law, a sufficient number of people must also participate in the referendum itself for its result to be binding. At least half of the voters in the last parliamentary elections must participate in the vote. Since 916,368 voters voted in the 2022 Latvian parliamentary elections, the referendum would only be valid and binding if at least 458,184 voters took part in it and a majority of them voted in favor of repealing the law.
According to an opinion poll published at the beginning of December, 32% of those interviewed would be in favor of maintaining the law on cohabitation and 30% would be in favor of its abolition. Support for the cohabitation law is highest among Latvians and lowest among Russians, at 38 and 21 percent respectively.
2023-12-27 05:39:00
the-attempt-to-subject-the-latvian-law-on-cohabitation-to-a-referendum-is-failing-in-a-foreign-country