Apvienotais saraksts set for record state funding after election

Apvienotais saraksts is set to receive the maximum annual state funding allowed for a political organisation after winning Latvia’s 15th Saeima election, while parties that failed to win 2% of the vote will receive no state money, LSM reports.

State funding is allocated for four years and may be spent on offices and staff, seminars, conferences and political campaigning. The law sets the annual payment at 0.9% of the minimum monthly wage for each vote received in the latest Saeima election by parties that passed the 2% threshold. Parties that won more than 5% of the vote also receive an additional amount equal to 200 minimum monthly wages a year.

With the minimum monthly wage due to rise to 820 euros next year, parties that passed the 2% threshold will receive 7.38 euros per vote. Apvienotais saraksts would otherwise be entitled to at least two million euros, but a legal cap limits annual funding for any one political organisation to 1,600 minimum monthly wages. That would put its payment next year at about 1.3 million euros.

Latvija pirmajā vietā could receive more than 900,000 euros next year, while Suverēnā vara and Apvienība jaunlatvieši are set to receive 850,000 euros, and the National Alliance at least 690,000 euros. Progresīvie and Jaunā vienotība will each receive more than 500,000 euros.

The new party Mēs mainām noteikumus is also set to receive at least 200,000 euros. Board member Jāzeps Baško told the LETA news agency that the party plans to use the funding to strengthen its presence in Latvian politics, while eventually seeking to end state funding for all political organisations. He said it would not give up the money while other parties continued to receive it, as doing so would give competitors an advantage. Baško also said state funding could hinder party-building by attracting people interested only in money.