The right to nominate candidates for the position of the Ombudsman is also planned to be awarded to the President / Diena

The initial amendments to the Law on the Ombudsman were submitted to the Saeima by President Edgars Rinkēvičs, and the commission agreed at several meetings on the changes needed in the draft law to develop an alternative.

The purpose of the bill is to promote the selection of a professional and institutionally neutral candidate, thus strengthening the institutional quality of human rights protection and public confidence in the Ombudsman Institute. So far, at least ten members of the Saeima had the right to nominate the candidate. The draft law would also provide for the President.

The annotation emphasizes that such an approach is in line with the Constitution and Constitutional Practice, strengthening the principles of equilibrium of power sharing and institutional balance. The participation of the President as a politically neutral official would provide a more open and balanced procedure, a more professional selection of candidates and higher public confidence, the authors of the amendments say.

The amendments also intend to extend the time in which Members can evaluate the submitted candidates. At present, the law stipulates that the application for the candidate for the position of the Ombudsman shall be submitted to the Saeima Presidium not earlier than 50 days and no later than 40 days before the expiry of the existing Ombudsman. The draft law provides that the application will be submitted no later than 60 days before the expiry of the Ombudsman’s term of office. It is planned that this will help to make balanced and responsible decisions, as well as ensure opposition and non -members of the factions, according to the bill.

Amendments to three more readings should be supported by the Saeima.