President, prime minister back debate on lawmakers’ compensation

Latvia’s president and prime minister agree that compensation for members of the Saeima’s housing and transport costs should be discussed, LSM reported. President Edgars Rinkēvičs said the issue should be raised with candidates before the next parliamentary elections.

More than 1 million euros has been paid from the state budget for transport and housing compensation for members of the 14th Saeima in less than four years.

After his weekly meeting with Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs of the United List, Rinkēvičs said candidates for the Saeima should explain their positions on lawmakers’ salaries and other parliamentary expenses.

At the same time, he said the decision on the compensation system should be made by the parliament itself. Rinkēvičs noted that the Saeima includes lawmakers from Riga and the regions, and said the parliament could assess the issue either before or after the elections, then explain its decision to the public.

Kulbergs also supported a discussion on the compensation system. However, he said lawmakers from the regions must be able to take part in the Saeima’s work in Riga while maintaining contact with voters in their municipalities. For that reason, he said, the duties of a lawmaker cannot be compared with a regular job at a single workplace.

Kulbergs said the issue should be examined critically because there were several examples where compensation might have been manipulated or claimed without justification. Ultimately, he said, voters would decide at the next elections whether their elected lawmaker had acted properly.

He added that accommodation in a service hostel for lawmakers could be discussed, but said the issue should be raised with the Saeima and its speaker and placed on the parliamentary agenda.