The Prosecutor Office's probe into the selection of candidates to work on the LTV board, started following a complaint filing by the Latvian Journalists' Association, found that Einārs Giels, selected to work as the chairman of the LTV board, formally met the requirements on the candidates for LTV board chairperson, including a requirement the candidate must have worked as a manager of a company for at least five years. At the same time, the Prosecutor's Office has established several shortcomings in the rules on selecting candidates for the LTV board.
The Journalists Association's petition questioned the lawfulness of the Electronic Mass Media Council's March 28 decision to appoint Giels as chairman of LTV board. The association believes that the candidate has never worked in the mass media and has never been the manager of a company.
During the probe, the Prosecutor's Office received information from the Electronic Mass Media Council, State Revenue Service, State Social Insurance Agency, Register of Companies, and Journalists' Association. The Prosecutor's Office has concluded that the Electronic Mass Media Council's rules on selecting candidates for the LTV board were not specific enough, and the council did not verify information provided by the candidates.
Even though the candidate who was appointed LTV board chairman formally met all the requirements, the rules for selection and assessment of candidates are not strict enough to ensure that the best candidate was selected, believes the Prosecutor's Office.
The Prosecutor Office's findings have been submitted to the Electronic Mass Media Council.
As reported, LTV board chairman Einars Giels, who previously worked as Olainfarm pharmaceutical company's marketing and sales data analyst, and Eva Juhņēviča, LTV board member in charge of digital development and contents, decided in early April to step down from the LTV board before even assuming their posts.
