A signature drive that could lead to giving voters the right to dismiss the Latvian parliament will run from March 12 to April 11, the Central Election Commission has announced in Rīga.

If enough registered voters sign on, the Free Trade Union Confederation of Latvia (Latvijas Brīvo arodbiedrību savienība) will be able to submit proposed amendments to the constitution that could allow, in effect, a popular recall of the parliament. If the Latvian parliament rejects or changes the proposed amendments, a national referendum must be called.

Approval of the signature drive is the latest step in a year-long conflict between Latvian politicians on one side and, on the other side, the labor confederation and a number of civic groups and leaders calling for government reform. The conflict came to a head noticeably in the late October and early November “umbrella revolution”—two gatherings of thousands in Rīga’s Old City to protest recent government actions. Bowing to pressure and defections from his cabinet, Prime Minister Aigars Kalvītis stepped down in December.

The labor federation has proposed amending Articles 78 and 79 of the constitution to allow voters to submit a draft resolution calling for the dismissal of parliament, the Saeima. If the Saeima were to reject or amend a resolution calling for its dissolution, then a national referendum would be required. In case of a national referendum, more than half of legal voters would have to support the call for dissolving the legislative body.

“These amendments to the constitution will eradicate from the country politicians’ tradition of thinking about the people only once every four years before elections,” Pēteris Krīgers, chairman of the labor confederation, said in a press release. “And this will undoubtedly expand citizens’ chances of more tightly controlling members of parliament, thereby guaranteeing a stronger civic society.”

The constitution at present allows only the president to propose dissolving parliament, which then leads to a national referendum. If the national referendum succeeds, parliament is dissolved and new elections are scheduled. But if the referendum fails, the president has to step down and parliament chooses a new head of state.

Both former President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga and current President Valdis Zatlers in the past year expressed reluctance to dissolving parliament.

A total of 11,095 valid signatures were recorded on a preliminary petition submitted to the elections commission Feb. 1 by the labor confederation, a commission spokeswoman said in a Feb. 15 press release. The petition, which required a minimum of 10,000 valid signatures, asked the commission to organize the signature drive.

For the month-long signature drive to succeed, at least 10 percent of the number of voters in the last parliamentary election must sign on—or at least 149,064.

Just where Latvian citizens abroad will be able to sign on may not be known until next week, when the Saeima is expected to consider a final reading of amendments to the law on initiative and referendum, election commission spokeswoman Kristīne Bērziņa told Latvians Online in an e-mail. If the Saeima approves the amendments, then every embassy, general consulate or consulate will be open for citizens to sign the petition.

During last year’s signature drive for a referendum on controversial amendments to two national security laws, 32 locations abroad were available. However, many saw little or no activity.

Further information on locations will be announced on the Central Election Commission’s Web site, www.cvk.lv.

Organizers of last year’s Latvian Song Festival in Indianapolis, which ended USD 65,000 in the red, are turning to community groups and individuals with a plea for donations.

About USD 48,000 of the deficit remains to be raised, organizers say. Direct donations and a March 1 benefit concert in Indianapolis are expected to help.

The deficit arose in large part because the number of visitors to the July 4-8 event was less than expected, Gunārs Kancs, co-chairman of the festival’s organizing committee, said in an e-mail to Latvians Online. The two largest shows—the July 6 folk dance spectacle and the July 7 joint choir concert—drew audiences of about 2,100 and 3,000, respectively.

In addition, a large number of visitors who had reserved rooms in the main festival hotels, including the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown Hotel, either failed to arrive, checked out early or moved to other accommodations. That left the organizing committee having to pay for event space that otherwise would have been free. Also lost were complimentary rooms intended for organizing committee members and some artists, Kancs said.

The Indianapolis festival’s deficit is in stark contrast to the USD 172,000 balance recorded by the 2002 Chicago festival. Those funds in 2003 were distributed to a number of Latvian organizations and cultural and educational projects, including the Indianapolis festival, according to a report by Ilmārs Bērgmanis, chair of the Chicago festival. The festival was aided by a USD 165,120 government grant to promote tourism in Illinois.

The Indianapolis festival received funding from other sources as well, including a USD 10,000 grant from the U.S. government’s National Endowment for the Arts and an LVL 7,000 grant from the Latvian government’s Secretariat for the Special Assignments Minister for Social Integration Affairs.

Some vendors and artists remained unpaid, Kancs said, but are being addressed as funds become available.

Part of the deficit has been erased by organizing committee members and many artists who had been promised free hotel rooms agreeing to cover the cost of their stay. Some organizing committee members also have donated or loaned money.

The organizing committee has placed an advertisement in the weekly Latvian-American newspaper Laiks encouraging private donations. Central and local Latvian organizations also have been contacted, many of which have already responded with donations, Kancs said.

Tax-deductible donations to erase the deficit may be sent to Mārtiņš Pūtelis, 144 1st Court, Carmel, IN 46033. Checks should be made out to “XII Latvian Song Festival.”

A benefit concert featuring the popular group Čikāgas Piecīši and the local ensembles Idvasa and Ezīši is scheduled at 6 p.m. March 1 in the Latvian Community Center, 1008 W. 64th St., Indianapolis. Admission is by donation beginning at USD 30, but children ages 14 and younger get in free.