According to the Law, a person who has been active in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Latvian Communist Party) cannot be declared a candidate for the European elections in Latvia and cannot be elected in the European Parliament after January 13, 1991.
The archive of the news agency LETA shows that the Supreme Court has previously identified Ždanoka as a member of the Communist Party after January 13, 1991.
The draft law also stipulates that a Member of the European Parliament elected from Latvia who has been convicted of a crime will lose his or her mandate and that the next candidate from the same list from which he was elected will take place. The Law stipulates that a person who has been punished for a serious or particularly serious crime in the Republic of Latvia and for whom the criminal record has not been deleted or removed, except in the case where the person has been rehabilitated, may not stand and be elected in the elections of the European Parliament.
The aim of the amendments is to create the same legal framework for Members of the European Parliament, as is the case when the criminal offense was committed by the Saeima deputy, said the Saeima Press Service.