The World Federation of Free Latvians (Pasaules brīvo latviešu apvienība, or PBLA) has announced a change in leadership after its chairman resigned to become involved in homeland politics.

As of July 23, the new chairman of the federation is Ints Rupners, who had been vice chairman of the organization, the PBLA’s representative office in Rīga announced July 27 in a brief message in its daily news digest.

Former Chairman Mārtiņš Sausiņš on July 19 joined the Civic Union (Pilsoniskā savienība), one of three political parties that make up the Unity (Vienotība) coalition. He also announced that he is prepared to be a candidate in the upcoming elections for the 11th Saeima, according to Civic Union spokesperson Dace Balode.

The elections are set for Sept. 17 and follow the July 23 national referendum that dissolved the 10th Saeima.

Sausiņš was born in Sweden in 1947 and now lives in Québec, Canada. He for years has been involved in the Latvian community in Canada, at one time serving as chair of the Latvian National Federation in Canada. Sausiņš was awarded the Order of the Three Stars, Latvia’s highest civilian honor, in 2007. He was elected chair of the PBLA in 2008 and re-elected in 2010.

Rupners was born in 1941 in Latvia. He has lived in the United States since 1950, where he has been an active member of both local and national Latvian organizations. He served as the head of the American Latvian Association (Amerikas latviešu apvienība) from 1992-1996, has led the Latvian Freedom Foundation (Latvijas brīvības fonds) and served on the board of the PBLA.

The election of the 11th Saeima—replacing the parliament that voters in Latvia and abroad fired in the recent referendum—will take place Saturday, Sept. 17, the Central Election Commission in Rīga has announced.

Political parties may begin submitting their candidate list on July 29, but the last day to file will be Aug. 18, the commission decided.

In all, the Saeima is composed of 100 members. Of those, 30 will be elected from the Rīga district, 27 from Vidzeme, 15 from Latgale, 15 from Zemgale and 13 from Kurzeme. Compared to October’s election of the 10th Saeima, Rīga has gained one deputy while Latgale has lost one, a commission spokeswoman said in a press release.

The September election is a result of the July 23 referendum in which almost 95 percent of more than 689,000 citizens voted for dissolving the current parliament. The referendum was brought about by then-President Valdis Zatlers’ call on May 28 to send the Saeima packing in answer to concerns about corruption and the political power of a handful of oligarchs.

Until the new parliament is elected, new President Andris Bērziņš may still call on the 10th Saeima to meet, the president’s press office announced July 26. However, sessions will be delierate and item will only appear on the lawmakers’ agenda if the Saeima and the coalition government have fully evaluated questions.

Irish police say a body found July 23 is that of 30-year-old Latvian national Juris Buls, who had been missing for more than two weeks.

Another Latvian national has been charged with withholding information from investigators who had been looking into the disappearance.

Buls’ body was found about 10 kilometers from Glenamaddy, the town in western Ireland where he lived, according to the Garda Press Office. Police said the body was discovered at about 6:20 p.m. July 23 in a wooded area.

Police on July 20 arrested a man and a woman in connection to the disappearance. The man, 35-year-old Sergejs Krauze of Glenamaddy, appeared in Tuam District Court on July 24. The judge denied Krauze bail because of police concerns that he might try to flee the country, Irish media reported. Krauze’s next appearance in court is scheduled July 27.

Buls went missing the night of July 7, having last been seen at his home. He failed to show up for work at a plastics manufacturer in Glenamaddy. His car also was missing.

Police on July 19 renewed an appeal for information about Buls’ whereabouts, noting they had “serious concerns” about his welfare.