The current Presidential election campaign in Latvia can neither be considered truly democratic nor completely legal because of a number of the Human Rights violations.
On June 18, 1996, the members of the acting 6th Saeima (Parliament) of the Republic of Latvia consisting of one hundred representatives will elect the President of the State.
According to the Constitution (Satversme), the President of the State shall be elected by the Saeima for a period of three years by secret ballot with a majority of no less than fifty-one votes. Under the Constitution the only restriction blocking someone's possibility of being elected as a President of the State is that he or she is not over forty years of age.
Latvian authorities are going to strike one of the four Presidential nominees, namely Alfreds RUBIKS off the list.
Their grounds for exclusion are in glaring contradiction with the International Human Rights standards.
Mr. Alfreds Rubiks, a political prisoner, was nominated by two members of Saeima, namely, Mr. Aleksander Bartashevich and Mr. Modris Luyans.
Mr. Alfreds Rubiks, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Latvian Communist Party, a former member of the Supreme Council of the USSR (1989-1991), the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia (1990-1992) and the 5th Saeima of the Republic of Latvia (1993-1995) was arrested on August 23,1991 and has been imprisoned for about five years.
The unprecedented trial against Mr. Alfreds Rubiks and his co-defendant, Mr.Oyar Potreki, continued for more than two years. The trial commenced on June 21,1993, and a conviction was given on July 27,1995. Mr. Alfreds Rubiks was sentenced to eight years imprisonment in a severe regime prison.
The case of Alfreds Rubiks and Ojars Potreki is the obvious violation of paragraph 1, article 15 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as of paragraph 1, article 7 of the European Convention on the Defense of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. On August 23, 1991, Alfred Rubiks was charged with treason to the USSR, pursuant to article 59 of the Criminal Code of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic. However, two day earlier on August 21,1991, the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia adopted a Constitutional Law declaring that all laws and normative acts of the USSR - a foreign state - were of no effect in Latvia. On August 23,1991, the Supreme Council declared that Article 59 of the Latvian Criminal Code was no longer effective. On February 20,1992 the prosecuting bodies themselves, admitted the invalidity of the accusation brought earlier against A.Rubiks on p.59 of the Criminal Code of the Latvian SSR, and withdrew the existing charge against Mr. Rubiks but laid a new charge against him pursuant to Article 59 part 1 of the Criminal Code of the Latvian Republic, which was only brought into force on August 22,1991 (one day before his original charge). He then became pursued for "the action directed to the violent overthrow of the state power of the Republic of Latvia or another action doing harm to the defense capacity or safety of the Republic of Latvia" on the basis of a clause which that did not exist before and which cannot have retrospective action.
Mr. Alfreds Rubiks was arrested (in August 1991) while being both the member of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia and the Supreme Council of the USSR. At the moment of his arrest, he possessed parliamentary immunity as a member of the Supreme Council of the USSR (permission was given by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia to detain him).
On July 9, 1992, the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia annulled 15 M.P. mandates of the opposition, namely of the Equal Rights faction. One of them was that of Mr. Alfreds Rubiks. This decision was accepted by a simple majority of those parliamentarians who attended the Plenary Session. It was based on the June 30 amendments to the Law "On the Status of the People Representative", allowing nullification of mandates for actions made earlier "against the Constitution and other Laws and Statements of the Republic of Latvia providing the existence of Latvia as an independent democratic state, in case if such actions are established by commission of the Supreme Council". Such a commission was created in August 1991 with the aim of investigation of "the unlawful attempt of Coup d'�tat made in Latvia in August 1991". Its conclusions were based solely on the materials of an uncompleted criminal proceedings by the prosecuting bodies.
During June 5-6, 1993, Mr. Alfreds Rubiks was elected to the 5th Saeima as a candidate from the Equal Rights Movement Electoral list. The trial was due to commence on June 14, 1993, but was adjourned because of Mr. Rubiks's poor health. On June 17, 1993 the Central Election Committee confirmed Mr. Rubiks's election to the 5th Saeima. By claiming parliamentary immunity, he was able to refuse attending Court on June 21 and 22 when the trial commenced, but was brought to court by force. Mr. Alfreds Rubiks spent three-years in custody while he was a valid mandate of the elected representative of the people.
From September 30- October 1, 1995, the elections to the 6th Saeima took place. In August 1995, the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Latvia crossed the names of 13 candidates out of the electoral list of the Socialist party (the political organization raised from the Equal Rights Movement) - therefore these people could not be elected to the new Parliament. Mr. Alfreds Rubiks was the first candidate whose name was crossed off by the Central Election Commission.
These decisions were based on the law ''On the Elections to Saeima (Parliament)'' adopted on May 25,1995. Article 5 p. 6 of the above mentioned law (adopted to suit the new political circumstances and subsequent to the events) which abolishes one's rights to be elected if he or she took part in the following organizations after January 13,1991: the Latvian (USSR) Communist Party, the International Front of Working People, the United Council of Working Collectives, the Organization of War and Labour Veterans, the All-Latvia Salvation Committee and its regional committees.
The fact of the matter is that all public bodies mentioned above were legally acting public organizations until September 10, 1991 (when they were announced unlawful). Moreover, by that date the Latvian Communist Party had a faction in the Parliament of the Republic of Latvia. Consequently, one must conclude, that the very act of participating in any of the above mentioned organizations (up to September 10,1991 )should neither be considered a crime nor a grounds for any restriction of one's rights. One should be considered personally responsible for one's actions and innocence, and one's guilt must be proven by a court.
After Mr. Alfreds Rubiks was nominated to the post of the President of the State by two members of Saeima, namely Mr. Aleksander Bartashevich and Mr. Modris Luyans, the draft law "On elections of the President of the State" was proposed by some members of Saeima. Article 2 of the above mentioned law abolishes the rights to be elected for the same category of persons as the above mentioned Article 5 of the law ''On the Elections to Saeima (Parliament)'' Although the Law commission by majority of votes rejected the draft because of its contradiction to the Satversme, the Defense commission proposed it to Parliament for consideration as an urgent Draft Law. On June 6, the "voting machine" was set into motion in the plenary session, and the draft passed the first reading and is dead certain to pass the final second reading on June 13th providing legal grounds needed for crossing the name of Alfreds RUBIKS off the list of the four Presidential nominees.
Due to actions taken by Latvian authorities against their most popular opponent, basic domestic laws and International treaties signed by Latvia are being broken, human rights are being violated and democratic development is under threat.