Proponents of making Russian the second state language in Latvia have apparently succeeded in getting enough signatures to bring proposed constitutional amendments before the Saeima and to force a national referendum, according to provisional results compiled by the Central Election Commission in Rīga.

A total of 183,046 eligible voters—almost 30,000 more than required—added their signatures to the citizen initiative during November, according to the election commission. Of those, 1,050 did so abroad at Latvian embassies and consulates.

That means legislation proposing changes to five paragraphs in Latvia’s constitution will be submitted in a few weeks. If media reports and political observers are correct, the Saeima is more than likely to reject the legislation, which would then lead to a national referendum on the language issue sometime in early 2012.

However, even if the Saeima approves the amendments, a national referendum is inescapable. One of the amendments would change Paragraph 4, which according to the constitution may only be changed through a referendum. Paragraph 4 stipulates that Latvian is the state language and that the national flag is red with a white stripe.

A pro-Russian group, “Dzimtā valoda,” gathered signatures earlier this year and in September submitted a petition with 12,533 names supporting the initiative. At least 10,000 were needed to trigger the month-long signature campaign.

According to Latvian law, at least 10 percent of eligible voters in the last parliamentary election—a total of 154,379—had to support the initiative to bring the legislation to the Saeima.

The Central Election Commission must now review the signatures, a process that could take three to four weeks, according to spokesperson Kristīne Bērziņa.

More than LVL 70 million already has been paid out to Latvijas Krājbanka clients after the financial institution’s collapse, but account holders abroad may have a tougher time getting to their money.

The bank, Latvia’s 10th largest in terms of deposits, was shut down by regulators after its parent company—Lithuania’s Bankas Snoras, that country’s third largest bank—collapsed amid allegations its owners siphoned off an estimated USD 1.3 billion in assets.

Lithuania’s government refused to bail out the bank. Latvian authorities followed up by taking over Krājbanka on Nov. 21, the Financial and Capital Market Commission (Finanšu un kapitālu tirgus komisija, or FKTK) announced.

Under Latvian banking law, deposits are insured up to EUR 100,000 (about LVL 70,000) from the Deposit Guarantee Fund, regardless of whether the account holder is a resident or a non-resident of the country. Reimbursements began to be paid out on Nov. 29.

Latvijas Krājbanka’s customers abroad can designate someone in Latvia to collect the insured value of their account by preparing a notarized proxy, an FKTK spokeswoman told Latvians Online in an email. The commission recommends that customers contact the nearest Latvian embassy or consulate for assistance on preparing the proxy.

Clients abroad who have used a Latvijas Krājbanka credit or debit card (norēķinu karte) to pay bills may have to ask friends, relatives or acquaintances in Latvia to help them get their money using a money transfer service like MoneyGram or Western Union, the spokesperson suggested.

Otherwise, customers from abroad can apply for the funds when in Latvia. The insured amount will be available for 60 years—until 2071, according to the FKTK.

An estimated 235,000 customers of Latvijas Krājbanka will receive the guaranteed payments.

Ironically, the payouts from Latvijas Krājbanka are being made through Citadele Bank. Citadele was formed in 2010 after the Latvian government took over the failed Parex Bank and transferred that bank’s good assets to the new financial institution.

After the collapse of Bankas Snoras and the seizure of Latvijas Krājbanka, Lithuanian authorities issued arrest warrants for Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov and his Lithuanian partner Raimondas Baranauskas, who were the major shareholders in Snoras. Both were arrested Nov. 24 in London and then released on bail.

Latvijas Krājbanka was founded in 1924. Bankas Snoras in 2005 bought majority interest in Krājbanka.

According to its 2010 annual report, Latvijas Krājbanka held more than LVL 575 million in deposits from customers, almost 60 percent of them private citizens. About 17 percent of the total deposits were from non-residents of Latvia.

Further information about account reimbursements is available by calling the Citadele Bank client contact center at +371 6 7010000.

Complaints about the reimbursement amount or questions about recognizing a person as a Latvijas Krājbanka depositer may be directed to the FKTK by telephone at +371 67774800 or +371 67774801, by email to fktk@fktk.lv, or by mail to Finanšu un kapitālu tirgus komisija, Kungu iela 1, Riga, LV-1050, Latvia.

With two days left in the campaign, supporters of amending Latvia’s constitution to make Russian the second official language are about 11,000 signatures short of meeting their target, according to new data released by the Central Election Commission in Rīga.

The campaign began Nov. 1 and as of Nov. 28 a total of 130,678 signatures have been recorded in the citizen initiative, the commission announced in a Nov. 29 press release. Added to the total will be 12,533 signatures submitted on a petition that began the initiative.

In all, supporters need 154,379 signatures—representing 10 percent of the eligible voters in the last parliamentary election—to get the proposed amendments before the Saeima. As of Nov. 28, they have nearly 93 percent of the total.

Observers commenting in Latvian media note that if the signature campaign is successful, the proposed legislation is likely to be defeated in the Saeima. Under the constitution, that would trigger a national referendum on the language issue.

Supporters of the measure, led by the pro-Russian organization “Dzimtā valoda,” want to amend five paragraphs in the constitution to give Russian equal status to Latvian. Under the constitution’s current language, Latvian is the only official language.

The signature campaign continues through Nov. 30 at local government offices in Latvia and at 39 embassies and consulates outside the homeland. A list of the locations abroad is available from the Central Election Commission’s website, www.cvk.lv.

The Central Election Commission is to begin verifying the signatures on Dec. 1.