RIGA — The Latvian parliament approved a new general prosecutor after narrowly voting down renewing the previous prosecutor’s term.

On Monday Ēriks Kalnmeiers was approved by the Saeima 54-25 with 12 abstentions in a secret ballot. Kalnmeiers, who is 50 years old and a serving prosecutor since 1987, will begin his new duties immediately.

After the vote, Kalnmeiers said at a press conference that outside the Saeima chamber he expected his new job to be difficult.

“It won’t be easy for [private_supervisor]me … I will lead with a strong backbone,” Kalnmeiers told reporters.

Kalnmeiers’ nomination has been criticized by Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis’ New Era Party. Party leader Svetlana Āboltiņa told the press last month that his nomination was “all is being staged according to a script, which makes the process questionable.”

Āboltiņa alleged that some of the parties involved in corruption investigations, which include the Greens and Farmers Union and the People’s Party, agreed to nominated Kalnmeiers so there would be someone “comfortable” in the top prosecutor’s seat. Both parties denied Āboltiņa’s allegation.

In April the Saeima unexpectedly blocked the reinstatement of General Prosecutor Jānis Maizītis 47-45. Maizītis has been a stalwart against Latvia’s corrupt political system, and perhaps his crowning achievement was to throw Ventspils Mayor Aivars Lembergs behind bars for nearly a year. Lembergs has been incriminated of graft and falsifying income statements, and his case is still under investigation. Not surprisingly, the Lembergs-controlled Greens and Farmers Union was the most hostile to a third term for Maizītis and grilled him with the most questions prior to the vote.

— Baltic Reports reporter James Dahl contributed to this article. [/private_supervisor] [private_subscription 1 month]me … I will lead with a strong backbone,” Kalnmeiers told reporters.

Kalnmeiers’ nomination has been criticized by Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis’ New Era Party. Party leader Svetlana Āboltiņa told the press last month that his nomination was “all is being staged according to a script, which makes the process questionable.”

Āboltiņa alleged that some of the parties involved in corruption investigations, which include the Greens and Farmers Union and the People’s Party, agreed to nominated Kalnmeiers so there would be someone “comfortable” in the top prosecutor’s seat. Both parties denied Āboltiņa’s allegation.

In April the Saeima unexpectedly blocked the reinstatement of General Prosecutor Jānis Maizītis 47-45. Maizītis has been a stalwart against Latvia’s corrupt political system, and perhaps his crowning achievement was to throw Ventspils Mayor Aivars Lembergs behind bars for nearly a year. Lembergs has been incriminated of graft and falsifying income statements, and his case is still under investigation. Not surprisingly, the Lembergs-controlled Greens and Farmers Union was the most hostile to a third term for Maizītis and grilled him with the most questions prior to the vote.

— Baltic Reports reporter James Dahl contributed to this article. [/private_subscription 1 month] [private_subscription 4 months]me … I will lead with a strong backbone,” Kalnmeiers told reporters.

Kalnmeiers’ nomination has been criticized by Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis’ New Era Party. Party leader Svetlana Āboltiņa told the press last month that his nomination was “all is being staged according to a script, which makes the process questionable.”

Āboltiņa alleged that some of the parties involved in corruption investigations, which include the Greens and Farmers Union and the People’s Party, agreed to nominated Kalnmeiers so there would be someone “comfortable” in the top prosecutor’s seat. Both parties denied Āboltiņa’s allegation.

In April the Saeima unexpectedly blocked the reinstatement of General Prosecutor Jānis Maizītis 47-45. Maizītis has been a stalwart against Latvia’s corrupt political system, and perhaps his crowning achievement was to throw Ventspils Mayor Aivars Lembergs behind bars for nearly a year. Lembergs has been incriminated of graft and falsifying income statements, and his case is still under investigation. Not surprisingly, the Lembergs-controlled Greens and Farmers Union was the most hostile to a third term for Maizītis and grilled him with the most questions prior to the vote.

— Baltic Reports reporter James Dahl contributed to this article. [/private_subscription 4 months] [private_subscription 1 year]me … I will lead with a strong backbone,” Kalnmeiers told reporters.

Kalnmeiers’ nomination has been criticized by Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis’ New Era Party. Party leader Svetlana Āboltiņa told the press last month that his nomination was “all is being staged according to a script, which makes the process questionable.”

Āboltiņa alleged that some of the parties involved in corruption investigations, which include the Greens and Farmers Union and the People’s Party, agreed to nominated Kalnmeiers so there would be someone “comfortable” in the top prosecutor’s seat. Both parties denied Āboltiņa’s allegation.

In April the Saeima unexpectedly blocked the reinstatement of General Prosecutor Jānis Maizītis 47-45. Maizītis has been a stalwart against Latvia’s corrupt political system, and perhaps his crowning achievement was to throw Ventspils Mayor Aivars Lembergs behind bars for nearly a year. Lembergs has been incriminated of graft and falsifying income statements, and his case is still under investigation. Not surprisingly, the Lembergs-controlled Greens and Farmers Union was the most hostile to a third term for Maizītis and grilled him with the most questions prior to the vote.

— Baltic Reports reporter James Dahl contributed to this article. [/private_subscription 1 year]

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