93 members voted unanimously on this. The draft law is still to be viewed in the second, final reading.
“With these amendments, we clearly and unequivocally state that the electorate in the European Parliament elections should be able to vote at any station on a voluntary basis,” said Edmunds Jurēvics (JV), deputy of the Saeima Public Administration and Local Government Committee.
There is still no clarity on who will run the electoral IT system so that voters can vote in any precinct. Negotiations regarding the provision of IT systems have been taken over by the State Chancellery, whose director, Jānis Citskovskis, has previously reported to the Saeima Public Administration and Local Government Committee, that no institution will be able to provide data exchange between precincts, so the service should be sought in the private sector.
The draft law also provides that polling stations will start work an hour later than usual - precincts will be open from 8 AM to 8 PM. The working times of the precincts on early voting days will also be changed.
Proposals for second reading can be submitted until May 18. The final reading of the draft legislation is scheduled to be discussed at the sitting on May 25.
