Saeima

Saeima
Saeima
14th Saeima
Type
Type	Unicameral
History
Founded	7 November 1922
Disbanded	1934–1940; 1940–1991;
Preceded by	Constitutional Assembly of Latvia
Leadership
Speaker	Daiga Mieriņa, Union of Greens and Farmers ; since 20 September 2023
Structure
Seats	100
Political groups	Government (51) JV (25); ZZS (16); P (10); Confidence and supply (3) Ind. (3); Opposition (46) AS (14); NA (12); S! (9); LPV (8); Ind. (3);
Committees	16 Foreign Affairs ; Budget and Finance (Taxation) ; Legal Affairs ; Human Rights and Public Affairs ; Education, Culture and Science ; Defence, Internal Affairs and Corruption Prevention ; Public Administration and Local Government ; Economic, Agricultural, Environmental and Regional Policy ; Social and Employment Matters ; Mandate, Ethics and Submissions ; Parliamentary Inquiry ; Public Expenditure and Audit ; National Security ; Citizenship, Migration and Social Cohesion ; European Affairs ; Sustainable Development ;
Length of term	4 years
Elections
Voting system	Open list proportional representation with a 5% electoral threshold
First election	7 and 8 October 1922
Last election	1 October 2022
Next election	By 3 October 2026
Meeting place
	House of the Livonian Noble Corporation, Riga
Website
	www.saeima.lv

The Saeima (Latvian pronunciation: [ˈsai.ma]) is the parliament of the Republic of Latvia. It is a unicameral parliament consisting of 100 members who are elected by proportional representation, with seats allocated to political parties which gain at least 5% of the popular vote. Elections are scheduled to be held once every four years, normally on the first Saturday of October. The most recent elections were held in October 2022.

The President of Latvia can dismiss the Saeima and request early elections. The procedure for dismissing it involves substantial political risk to the president, including a risk of loss of office. On 28 May 2011 president Valdis Zatlers decided to initiate the dissolution of the Saeima, which was approved in a referendum, and the Saeima was dissolved on 23 July 2011.

The current Speaker of the Saeima is Daiga Mieriņa of the Union of Greens and Farmers party. The basic document that regulates the proceedings of the parliament is the Rules of Order of Saeima (Saeimas kārtības rullis, also Rules of Procedure), adopted 23 March 1923 with amendments in 1929 and 1994.

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