| Are you in favor of dismissing the 10th Saeima? | |
| Country: | Latvia |
| Date: | 23 July 2011 |
| Yes: | 650,518 |
| No: | 37,829 |
| Invalid: | 1,476 |
| Electorate: | 1,542,593 |
A referendum on whether the Saeima should be dissolved early was held in Latvia on 23 July 2011.[1] President Valdis Zatlers used his parliamentary dissolution power for the first time in the history of Latvia.[2] A "yes/no" vote was held and the referendum passed with 94.3% support.
President Valdis Zatlers called the referendum under the power given to him by the constitution on 28 May 2011.[2] Zatlers called the referendum in response to the Saeima's refusal to sanction a search at the home of MP Ainārs Šlesers, leader of Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way and a former cabinet minister.[3] According to the current legal procedure, the referendum on the Saeima's dissolution had to take place no later than two months after the President's decree.[4]
The Constitution of Latvia foresaw that if the people had not supported Zatlers' decision, he would have had to resign from the presidency. This could have created a judicial conundrum, however, since Zatlers' current term expired on 7 July and the Saeima held a presidential election (in which Zatlers was also a candidate) on 2 June.[5] As Zatlers was not reelected, however, this conundrum was avoided.
Polls indicated that the referendum would pass by a strong margin.