Riga, April 17 (LETA) - On Thursday, the Jelgava regional council had the election of the council chairman on the agenda, but the vote was inconclusive and the chairman was not elected.

In response to the letter of the Smart Administration and Regional Development Ministry of April 7, in which it calls on the municipal council to decide on the election of the mayor, the issue was included in the agenda of the council meeting, the municipality informed LETA.

The Local Government Law stipulates that candidates for the post of mayor are voted for by ballot papers - i.e. in person. Ten out of 19 Jelgava regional council lawmakers were present in person at the council meeting, which is sufficient for the elections to take place.

Three candidates were nominated for the vote - Dina Taurina and Dainis Liepins from the Latvian Association of Regions, and Ilze Vitola from the Latvian Farmers' Union. Both Taurina and Liepins withdrew their candidatures.

Vitola received the support of five MEPs, four were against her election and one ballot paper was invalid. A total of ten votes were needed to elect the council chairperson, so the vote was inconclusive and the chairperson was not elected.

As reported, the work of the regional council has been going on without a chairman since February 3, after Uldis Ainars (New Unity) stepped down. He was elected chairman of the Jelgava regional council on September 30, 2024, after the council had been working without a chairman for months following the resignation of Madars Lasmanis (For Latvia's Development) in April 2024.