国际英语新闻:Dissolution of Riga City Council to be delayed as Latvian president suspends bills

RIGA, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- The dissolution of Riga City Council, which has been proposed by the Latvian Regional Development Ministry, is likely to be delayed by several months as President Egils Levits has suspended the draft legislation enabling the process, the president's office said on Monday.

The president decided to suspend amendments to the law on local governments and the law on municipal elections after a group of 41 lawmakers submitted on Monday a petition against the promulgation of a bill allowing the election of a city council for a term of more than five years after the previous council's dissolution.

Earlier, the draft legislation was criticized by parliament's law experts, opposition parties and also several members of the ruling KPV LV party as unconstitutional and designed specifically for sacking the current government of Riga.

According to the Latvian constitution, the president has to postpone the promulgation of a bill for two months if the delay is requested by more than a third of the parliament. If during the two-month period a petition against the bill is signed by at least 10 percent of the eligible voters, a referendum has to be held.

The bill on the dissolution of current Riga City Council has been approved by Latvia's center-right government and reached the parliament, but its adoption is unlikely to be completed before the suspended amendments to the law on local governments and the law on municipal elections are signed into law.

Regional Development Minister Juris Puce initiated the dissolution of the city council on the grounds that the local authority has been unable to properly organize waste management in the city. The minister called for the measure after several unsuccessful tenders were held in Riga to find a provider of waste management services.