Reform Party (Latvia)

The Reform Party (Latvian: Reformu partija), until April 2012 known as Zatlers' Reform Party (Latvian: Zatlera Reformu partija, ZRP), was a centre-right political party in Latvia founded by former President Valdis Zatlers on 23 July 2011.[2] It won 22 seats in the Saeima in the 2011 election.

Reform Party
Reformu partija
LeaderVjačeslavs Dombrovskis
Founded23 July 2011
Dissolved2015
HeadquartersStabu iela 17 Riga LV-1011
IdeologyLiberal conservatism[1]
Political positionCentre-right[2]
ColoursTurquoise, crimson
Website
www.reformupartija.lv

History

On 9 July 2011, Zatlers announced that he would found the party on 23 July 2011; the same day as the country's first parliamentary dissolution referendum.[3][4][5] The party was founded on 23 July and Zatlers was elected its chairman by 251 votes to 2.[6][7] Zatlers announced that the party would not cooperate with the three 'oligarch' parties – the Union of Greens and Farmers, Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way, and the People's Party.[3][8]

A survey suggested that 33% of voters would support the new party,[9] and as of July 2011, 17.5% would vote for them,[10] while 52% were certain that the party would receive seats in the Saeima.[11]

By September 2011, over 1000 people had applied to join the party.[12] As of 19 July 2011 the core of the party was formed by 15–20 members.[13][14] The party drafted 10 working principles,[4][15] and invited discussion on these principles from anyone who applied for membership.[12]

At the 2011 parliamentary election, the party won 22 seats, making it the second-largest party, behind the Harmony Centre alliance. It agreed to form a coalition with Unity, and after negotiations, the National Alliance, with Valdis Dombrovskis to continue as Prime Minister and Zatlers to be Speaker of the Saeima. On 17 October 2011, Zatlers failed to be elected Speaker as had been agreed, and Unity's Solvita Āboltiņa was re-elected instead. Six ZRP MPs – Klāvs Olšteins, Elīna Siliņa, Gunārs Rusiņš, Jānis Upenieks, Viktors Valainis, and Jānis Junkurs – left the party to become non-attached members.

In April 2012 the party dropped references to its founder from its name and became known simply as the Reform Party.

For the 2014 general election, the Reform Party announced an electoral pact with its government coalition partner Unity.[16]

In March 2015 the party began the formal process of disbanding and most of its core base was absorbed by Unity.[17] The liquidation process concluded in April 2020.

Election results

Parliament (Saeima)
Election year # of
overall votes		  % of
overall vote		 # of
overall seats won		 +/–
2011 190,853 20.8
22 / 100

References
  1. Nordsieck, Wolfram (2018). "Latvia". Parties and Elections in Europe. Archived from the original on 27 September 2018.
  2. Deloy, Corinne (23 July 2011). "Former President of the Republic Valdis Zatlers creates his own political party" (PDF). Robert Schuman Foundation. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  3. "Latvian political parties undergo major upheaval". The Baltic Times. 12 July 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  4. "Referenduma dienā Zatlers dibinās 'Reformu partiju'" [Zatlers will found "Reform party" on the day of the referendum]. LETA (in Latvian). Delfi. 8 July 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  5. "Zatlers dibinās "Reformu partiju"" [Zatlers will found "Reform party"]. LETA/BNS (in Latvian). TVNET. 9 July 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  6. Nodibina Zatlera Reformu partiju; eksprezidentu ievēl par priekšsēdi (plkst.22:10). Delfi.lv. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  7. Apollo – Ziņas: Nodibina jauno Zatlera Reformu partiju; tās logo – bultas sašauts sarkans krusts Archived 17 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Apollo.lv. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  8. "Zatlera partija nesadarbosies ar ZZS, LPP/LC un TP" [Zatlers' party will not cooperate with UGF, LFP/LW and PP]. LETA (in Latvian). Delfi. 9 July 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  9. Delfi staff (15 July 2011). "Aptauja: 33% gatavi balsot par Zatlera partiju" [Poll: 33% are ready to vote for Zatlers' party]. Delfi (in Latvian). Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  10. Reitingi: Zatlera partija 'noķer' SC ; 'Vienotībai' un ZZS – būtisks kritums. Delfi.lv. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  11. Aptauja: iedzīvotāji panākumus ārkārtas vēlēšanās prognozē SC, 'Vienotībai' un Zatlera partijai. Delfi.lv. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  12. Apollo – Ziņas: Zatlera Reformu partijā pieteikušies vairāk nekā 1000 cilvēku Archived 23 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Apollo.lv. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  13. Apollo – Ziņas: Atklāj topošās Zatlera partijas kodolu Archived 22 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Apollo.lv. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  14. Apollo – Ziņas: Topošās Zatlera partijas kodolā darbojas vairāki uzņēmēji Archived 19 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Apollo.lv. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  15. Zatlera Reformu partija | Ārkārtas 11. Saeimas vēlēšanas, kandidāti Archived 12 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Valdiszatlers.lv. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  16. 'Vienotība' un RP vienojas par kopīgu startu 12.Saeimas vēlēšanās, LETA, 27 December 2013, accessed 21 September 2014
  17. "Latvian Reform Party to be liquidated". The Baltic Course. 26 March 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
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