Opposition nominates Aivars Endzins for President in last

UNCLAS RIGA 000402 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL LG SUBJECT: Opposition nominates Aivars Endzins for President in last minute move ¶1. (U) Summary: On May 24, the last day allowed for the nomination of presidential candidates, opposition party "Harmony Centre" (Saskanas Centrs, SC) unexpectedly nominated as its presidential candidate Aivars Endzins, former Chair of the Constitutional Court. Though his name has been surfacing as a strong potential presidential candidate long before official nominations, none of the ruling coalition parties had publicly considered him. Harmony Centre Chairman Nils Usakovs stated that his party decided to nominate Endzins because during the 10 years of his chairmanship over the Constitutional Court he has demonstrated the ability to take politically independent and difficult decisions, proved his ability to stand above all political passions and fights, and has very high trust ratings in various circles, including among academics and civil society, and in the public at large. After Endzins' nomination, Sandra Kalniete (opposition party New Era's (JL) candidate) officially removed her candidacy and called on MPs to cast their vote for Endzins, although New Era has not formally endorsed Endzins. Two parties of the ruling coalition - the People's Party (TP) and the Unions of Greens and Farmers - commented that Endzins' nomination has not changed anything and the coalition parties strongly support their candidate, Valdis Zatlers. Some in the coalition may try to use Endzins' background in the communist party to suggest he is a poor choice, but his record of supporting Latvian Independence at the end of the 1980's will likely make that a tough sell. End summary. ¶2. (U) BIOGRAPHY: Aivars Endzins was born in Riga on December 8, ¶1940. In 1968, he graduated from the Law Department of the State University of Latvia, later pursued a doctoral degree in Moscow and in 1972, was awarded a Dr.Jur. by the Law Department of the University of Moscow. From 1963-1990 he was a member of the Communist Party and for some time served as a secretary of the Communist Party at the Latvian State University. From the very beginning of Latvia's attempts to become independent, Aivars Endzins was actively involved in the restoration of Latvia's sovereignty and statehood: in 1988 he became a member of the Popular Front (Tautas Fronte),from 1990-1991 he was a member of the Latvian Democratic Labor Party, and also was a member of the Latvian National Movement for Independence (LNNK). Endzins was elected in 1990 to the Supreme Council as a member of the Popular Front and was among those who voted for Latvia's independence. In 1993, Endzins was among the founders of the political party Latvia's Way and was elected to the 5th and 6th Saeimas as a candidate of that party. During his years in the Saeima, he actively participated in the Saeima Legal Affairs Committee and was a member of the Parliamentarian Delegation to the OSCE. In October 1996, he was elected as a judge on the Constitutional Court and resigned his seat in the Saeima. In December 1996, he was chosen acting Chair of the Constitutional Court and in 2000, was elected Chairperson of the Constitutional Court, being then re-elected in 2003. In December 2006 his term in office expired. Additionally, he was an associate member of the EC commission "Democracy through Law" and since 2000, has served on the editorial board of the journal "Administrative and Criminal Justice." Currently he is a law professor and dean of the Law Department at "Turiba", a private university. He speaks Russian and English fluently. ¶3. (U) Since Endzins' nomination by Harmony Centre, he has received praise as a qualified candidate from several well-known public figures and political experts, and his candidacy appears to have broad public support (in 24 May's political TV talk show "What is Going On in Latvia?", he received 4-5 times more support than the other two candidates in an unscientific presidential candidate poll among viewers). He has earned a favorable reputation during his ten years of chairmanship of the Constitutional Court, during which the Court made a number of politically-difficult decisions, many of them not favored by the ruling parties. Among those decisions were the removal of restrictions on broadcasting in minority languages by public broadcasters, ruling as illegitimate provisions which prohibited mothers of new-born babies to receive full child care allowances and work at the same time, and removal of a number of provisions restricting rights to freedom of assembly. Since leaving the Constitutional Court, he has continued to be an active opponent and critic of the ruling coalition. Endzins has publicly stated that there are oligarchs in Latvia and stated which individuals qualified as an oligarch (thus losing any possibility of official support from the ruling coalition, as all three names he mentioned are closely connected to ruling coalition parties). ¶4. (U) One of consequences of Endzins' candidacy is the withdrawal of New Era's (JL) candidate Sandra Kalniete and her support for Endzins. JL has not made an official statement about supporting Endzins and stated that Kalniete's removal of her candidature and call to vote for Endzins was her individual decision. However, JL Chair Krisjanis Karins stated that New Era will most likely vote for Endzins. Waser