On Thursday, 22 June, the Saeima adopted in the final reading amendments to the Pre-election Campaign Law stipulating the use of the official language in pre-election campaigns.

“The mandatory use of the official language shall only apply to pre-election campaigns and campaign materials, meaning that parties and candidates are free to use other languages to converse with their electorate in person,” said Daiga Mieriņa, Chair of the Public Administration and Local Government Committee, which is responsible for the progress of the draft law in the Saeima.

According to the amendments, pre-election campaigns and campaign materials appearing in electronic mass media radio and television programmes, in public outdoor and indoor spaces, periodicals, newsletters, books, and other printed materials during the pre-election period must be in the official language. In addition, paid campaigns published on the internet must be in the official language.

Moreover, during the pre-election period of the European Parliament or local government elections, the official languages of the EU may be used as part of the campaign materials or to translate a campaign. In this case, the amount of content in the official language must be at least as long or as extensive as the spoken or written text in another language.

The amendments stipulate that the State Language Centre may also institute administrative proceedings in cases of official language use violations in pre-election campaigns.

According to the explanatory note to the draft law, the amendments were proposed to strengthen the status of the official language in pre-election campaigns, including in media programmes and broadcasts, public spaces, newspapers, and magazines.

Saeima Press Service