The factions of the ruling coalition failed to secure the necessary majority in the vote before the debate began, so it was necessary to announce a break in proceedings, after which the session continued as planned.
Proceedings in the Saeima are organized according to strict rules of procedure. Laws are usually considered in the Saeima in three readings, but it is not uncommon for the parliament to consider issues related to the state budget in two readings if they agree they can be classed as 'urgent'. That determination of urgency must be voted on before the laws themselves are introduced and debated.
Wednesday morning's extraordinary session began with votes determining the urgency of 31 bills accompanying the budget.
However, there were not enough votes in the vote on determining the urgency of next year's budget bill itself. Of 100 deputies in total only 49 deputies voted "for" (51 votes are needed to pass such a motion with a majority). 39 opposition MPs did not participate in the vote, thus meaning no quorum was formed.
A break of half an hour was announced at the meeting. When the session resumed, the quorum was ensured, because the deputies Ingrīda Circene and Anna Rancāne from the coalition party New Unity, who had been missing earlier, had been rustled up to take part in the vote, allowing the debates to start as planned.
Despite the confusion, Harijs Rokpelnis, the leader of the Saeima faction of the Greens and Farmers Union (ZZS), which is part of the coalition, told the LETA agency that the coalition is capable of functioning and this will be confirmed during the further budget approval process. He suggested seasonal illness as a reason why the coalition's sums had failed to add up for the earlier vote.
"It is autumn, the time of viruses, health complications, which prevent everyone from fully engaging in a long sitting process," Rokpelnis reasoned.
The chairman of the New Unity faction, Edmunds Jurēvics, was critical of the opposition parties' opportunism when they noticed the coalition hadn't mustered enough deputies in the chamber.
"It is a pity that the opposition uses such moves, especially in the budget, which is about internal and external security," Jurēvics said.
Budget debates are now under way. If you'd like to watch them live, you can do so at the Saeima website.
