Juris Pūce informs the board of ‘Latvijas attīstībai’ about the decision to resign from the position of the head of the political organization, board nominates Ivars Ijabs in his place. Artūrs Toms Plešs has been nominated as a ‘Latvijas attīstībai’ candidate for the position of the Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development.
Board of the ‘Latvijas attīstībai’ in response to the events, has listened to the views of party members and decided to make significant internal changes. With the resignation of Juris Pūce the board has decided to nominate MEP Ivars Ijabs as the acting chairman of the party and co-chairman of the ‘Attīstībai/Par!’ alliance, and Artūrs Toms Plešs as the candidate for the position of the Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development.
On November 13th and 14th, the board of the party ‘Latvijas attīstībai’ convened meetings of members. More than 100 party members attended the online meetings to hear Juris Pūce and the party board. Everyone who wanted to have a chance to voice their opinion and to ask a question, as well as to express their vision for the further development of ‘Latvijas attīstībai’. At the meeting, Juris Pūce apologized to members for providing false information to members and the public, expressed regret for his actions and readiness to take full political responsibility for this.
‘Thank you to the members of the ‘Latvijas attīstībai’ party for their support, I appreciate it a lot. However, I believe that in this situation it is right to take responsibility not only towards the society but also towards my party and alliance members. Therefore, I have decided to leave the position of co-chairman of the alliance “Attīstībai/Par!”, as well as the position of the chairman of the board of the party ‘Latvijas attīstībai’. The question is no longer about me. I deeply believe in the strength and future of our party. Contrary to the slanderer’s claims ‘Latvijas attīstībai’ is Pūce’s party in which everyone listens to the dictates of one person. ‘Latvijas attīstībai’ has a team of strong leaders who enjoy the wide trust and high appreciation of party members in society. We have promising young leaders of the future, we have strong teams in the regions. This is the right moment to demonstrate our inseparability and strength’, says Juris Pūce.
The ‘Latvijas attīstībai’ members showed unequivocal trust and support to the party board, as well as to Juris Pūce personally. The members also praised Juris Pūce’s achievements as Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development in the fields of both environmental protection and Latvia’s digitalization efforts emphasizing the professional work of his team during the making process of Latvia’s Administratively Territorial Reform.
The board of the party ‘Latvijas attīstībai’ decided to nominate Artūrs Toms Plešs, a Member of the 13th Saeima and a member of the Board of the Party, as the candidate for the position of the Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development. The members of the Board emphasized that Artūrs Toms Plešs, who has been the Parliamentary Secretary of the above-mentioned ministry until now would be best able to perform the duties of the Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, as he fully understands the work of this ministry and will be able to ensure continuity of political initiatives and reforms. The candidacy of Artūrs Tomas Plešs will be discussed by the alliance ‘Attīstībai/Par!’ board and representatives meeting this week.
‘I would like to thank my colleagues for their trust in nominating me for the position of the Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development. Working in the team of Juris Pūce, I was present in the process of developing and adopting the Administratively Territorial Reform, and I believe that it is very important to complete this reform. As a Minister, Juris Pūce has done a tremendous job so far, implemented many important initiatives, and I would be honored to continue what he started. I would like to confirm that I will do my best to move Latvia towards climate neutrality, make significant changes in the field of digitalization and move towards more balanced regional development,’ emphasizes Artūrs Toms Plešs.
The board of the party ‘Latvijas attīstībai’ decided to nominate Ivars Ijabs, a member of the European Parliament and a member of the party’s board, to the alliance ‘Attīstībai/Par!’ as the acting co-chair, as well as appointing Ivars Ijabs as the acting chair of the party board until the party congress is convened to elect a new chairman of the party board following the party’s statutes.
‘Currently, it is important for the ‘Latvijas attīstībai’ team to be united and strong because currently, the priority is to prepare a powerful start for the 2021 local elections, as well as to continue implementing the party’s political initiatives in the Saeima, government and European Parliament,’ says Ivars Ijabs.
The Secretary-General of the ‘Latvijas attīstībai’ Jeļena Jesajana, points out that a party congress will be organized shortly, following the party’s statutes and the country’s restrictions on the Covid-19 pandemic.
