European Court of Human Rights upholds Latvia’s removal of Communist candidate from parliamentary election list News
CherryX per Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
European Court of Human Rights upholds Latvia’s removal of Communist candidate from parliamentary election list

The European Court of Human Rights unanimously held that Latvia’s removal of applicant Tatjana Ždanoka from the candidate list for its 2018 parliamentary elections did not violate Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 of the European Convention of Human Rights, on Thursday.

Ždanoka was barred on the grounds of Article 5(6) of Latvia’s Parliamentary Elections Act of 1995, which prevents persons who have “actively participated” in the Communist Party of Latvia from standing in parliamentary elections to the Saeima (Latvia’s national parliament). She was part of the Communist Party of Latvia, the regional branch of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, from 1971 until its dissolution in 1991. For the 2018 parliamentary elections, she had tried to stand as a candidate for the Latvian Russian Union party.

Although the court agreed that removing the applicant’s name from the candidate list interfered with the right to free elections, it ruled in favor of Latvia, concluding that there was no violation of the provision. For such an interference to be justified under Article 3 of Protocol No. 1, it must be lawful, pursue a legitimate aim and be proportionate to that aim. The first two requirements were quickly deemed to be fulfilled, as Ždanoka was barred from standing on sufficient legal grounds and the action pursued a legitimate aim, namely, the protection of Latvia’s independence, democratic order and national security.

In its proportionality inquiry, the court pointed out that the main purpose of the decision was to protect the integrity of Latvia’s democratic process, further emphasizing that Ždanoka had made no efforts to distance herself from the former Communist Party of Latvia. Furthermore, it did not fall short of examining the country’s current geopolitical situation, highlighting its direct proximity to the Russian Federation and referencing Russia’s previous invasions of Georgia and Ukraine. Therefore, the court believed that Latvia had legitimate grounds for fearing for its “security, territorial integrity and democratic order.” As a result, considering that Article 5(6) of Latvia’s Parliamentary Elections Act had even been further narrowed by the Constitutional Court in 2018, the European Court believed that Latvia had not overstepped its margin of appreciation.

The provision was narrowed in 2018, after Ždanoka applied to the Constitutional Court of Latvia to reassess the discussed Parliamentary Elections Act provision in light of the Latvian Constitution, after she was denied parliamentary standing that year.

Since the European Parliament Elections Act of 2004 does not contain such a provision, she was previously able to stand as a candidate for the European Parliament and has held several positions. However, in March of this year, it was reported that Latvia’s State Security Service initiated criminal proceedings against her on suspicion of cooperating with Russian intelligence and security services. 

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