United List sends anti-homosexuality activist and accused businessman to parliament

Latvia’s United List party has elected an activist associated with a radical organisation and a businessman accused of tax offences to parliament, LSM reported, citing LTV’s investigative programme De facto.

The party’s unexpectedly strong election result gave it the largest number of parliamentary seats in its history. Its leader, Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs, said the team had been carefully assembled, but several newly elected MPs joined the party shortly before the vote.

Among them is Liene Apine, president of the Latvian Paralympic Committee, who joined the Latvian Association of Regions this summer. She is described in the article’s headline as an opponent of homosexuality. For more than 20 years, Apine served as a board member of the Latvian National Front, an organisation known for radical and esoteric ideas, and as deputy editor-in-chief of its newspaper DDD.

Jānis Stērninieks, a businessman accused of evading value-added and corporate income taxes and attempting fraud, will also join the faction. United List MP Edvards Smiltēns said he had checked new party members for risks to national security and did not see any. He said he was surprised after reading DDD articles published while Apine worked there, and said conduct in the faction would now be regulated. Fellow MP Māris Kučinskis said he had not known about the accusations against Stērninieks.

Kulbergs joked that it took 10 minutes just to greet almost all the newly elected United List MPs at their first meeting. Most will serve in parliament for the first time. He said he had not yet spoken individually with the other 40 faction members, but planned to do so the following week.