The proposal, supported in the first reading, was put forward by the opposition Regional Alliance party. It contains amendments to the constitution that remove the provision that an MP cannot face administrative responsibility if Saeima does not consent to it (consent can be given by a plenary session majority vote). While the MPs' criminal immunity will be retained in the law.
The same session saw the rejection of a proposal by an opposition party to abolish both criminal and administrative immunity of Latvian MPs as well as other state officials, including judges, prosecutors, officers of the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) and other special services.
Only MPs from the Harmony party supported the proposal.
In the explanatory statement to its proposal, the Harmony party said that the Latvian Constitution expressly banned discrimination.
"Granting absolute privileges to certain groups of persons which in many cases actually enables them to avoid administrative charges represents an anti-Constitutional and archaic advantage," the opposition party said.
