A Latvian referendum called to vote on raising old age pensions failed to gather enough votes, results showed on Sunday, causing relief for the ruling four-party centre-right coalition.
The government, led by Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis, had opposed the Saturday referendum, saying the pension raises would have cost more than 300 million Latvian lats and brought the social security system into bankruptcy.
Backers of the referendum said the cost of the bill would have been much lower, at about 87 million lats. A count of 985 out of the 998 polling stations showed 346,840 people voted in the referendum, short of the minimum necessary turnout of 453,730. The remaining votes to be counted would not bring the total to the required level.
Of those who voted, the overwhelming majority, 96 percent, backed raising pensions. This was the second referendum Latvia has held this month. One in early August, also opposed by the government, called for allowing referendums to dissolve parliament, outside regular elections. That also failed to gather enough votes.
The two failed votes came amid plunging popularity for the government, soaring inflation and slowing economic growth. The referendums were organised late last year during attempts by the previous government to oust the head of Latvia's anti-corruption bureau, moves which caused great popular anger and two large demonstrations.
The head of the anti-corruption bureau was later removed from office on charges of neglect after money seized in raids went missing. In Latvia, pensions can be as low as 110 lats a month, well below levels in western Europe, though prices for many goods such as milk and bread have, mostly due to a recent bout of inflation, risen close to or beyond European levels.
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