On Friday, 4 June 2021, the Central Election Commission (CEC) announced elections of the Varakļāni municipality council and the Rēzekne municipality council, which will take place on 11 September this year in these two electoral districts.
Polling stations on the municipal election day, 11 September, will be open between 7:00 and 20.00. Voters will also be able to vote during early voting on Monday, 6 September, from 16:00 to 20:00, Thursday, 9 September, from 9:00 to 16:00 and Friday, 10 September, from 13:00 to 20:00.
Voters will be able to vote at any polling station in their electoral district in the elections of the Varakļāni municipality council and the Rēzekne municipality council. An electronic online voter register will be used to register voters in polling stations.
Voters eligible to participate in municipal elections, which are staying abroad during elections, will be allowed to apply for postal voting from abroad. Voters will have to apply for postal voting in advance – from 2 August to 12 August.
The right to participate in local government elections will have citizens of Latvia and other member states of the European Union from the age of 18 who will have a registered place of residence in the administrative territory of the relevant municipality at least 90 days before the election day (13 June of this year) or who own immovable property in the administrative territory of relevant municipality and who will register for voting in it. Voters can change their electoral district to be registered for voting in the municipality where they own immovable property from 2 August to 2 September.
Voters will be able to find out their electoral district and polling stations within the district from 31 July by using the e-service of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs on the internet or by calling the CEC hotline.
The submission of candidate lists for the elections of Varakļāni municipality council and the Rēzekne municipality council will take place from 19 July to 28 July. The lists of candidates must be submitted to the election commission of the Varakļāni municipality or to the election commission of the Rēzekne municipality, respectively.
The candidate lists can be submitted by registered political parties, registered associations of registered political parties, as well as two or more registered political parties that have not formed a registered association of political parties. In order to stand in elections to the municipality council of Varakļāni or Rēzekne, on the day of the submission of the list of candidates, the candidate must meet at least one of these conditions – the candidate must have a registered place of residence in the administrative territory of the relevant municipality residence for the last 10 months without interruption or must have worked in the relevant municipality as a worker or self-employed person for at least the last four months, or the candidate must own immovable property in the municipality concerned.
The period of pre-election campaign will run from the date of announcement of the election, 4 June, to the election day – 11 September.
In order to comply with the Constitutional Court judgment, on 1 June 2021, the Saeima adopted amendments to the Law on Administrative Territories and Populated Areas and the Law on Elections of Varakļāni Municipality Council and the Rēzekne Municipality Council, which stipulates that the elections in these municipalities shall be held on 11 September this year.
CEC Information Department
Tel. +371 20237331