Latvian Minister Calls for Resignation of Rēzekne Mayor Over Security Clearance
Raimonds Čudars, Latvia’s Minister of Smart Administration and Regional Development, has requested the immediate resignation of Aleksandrs Bartaševičs, the Chairman of the Rēzekne City Council, after the State Security Service denied Bartaševičs access to state secrets. The request comes after the State Security Service determined Bartaševičs did not meet the requirements for clearance, , February 2, 2026.
According to a statement from the Minister, Bartaševičs has five working days to submit a written explanation regarding the denial of security clearance. Čudars will then make a decision based on the provided explanation.
The situation unfolded after Latvian Television reported last week that a local government leader in the Latgale region had been denied clearance to work with state secrets. At that time, the identity of the official and the specific local government were not publicly known.
This case is the latest in a series of ongoing security checks of municipal officials following local elections held on . As of , the State Security Service had issued 92 special permits granting access to state secrets to leading municipal officials – council chairmen and their deputies. Of those permits, 87 were issued for a full five-year term, while five were granted for a shortened two-year term.
The State Security Service has also denied a special permit to Gatis Truksnis, the former mayor of Jūrmala City Council. Truksnis resigned from his position and was replaced by Jānis Lediņš. However, the municipality has not yet requested an inspection regarding Lediņš’s deputy, Romans Mežeckis.
Currently, the State Security Service continues to assess the suitability of 25 local government leaders for access to state secrets. The service is awaiting requests for special permits and supporting documentation from two local government leaders: one council chairman and one deputy chairman.
The delays in completing these security checks are significant, occurring many months after the local elections. The process highlights the scrutiny applied to individuals holding positions of public trust and requiring access to sensitive information.
This situation echoes a similar case from , when Ilze Petersone-Godmane, the Interior Ministry state secretary, lost her security clearance and resigned. Her resignation was described as “mutually agreed” and she stated she respected the decision of the Constitution Protection Bureau, despite regretting the assessment of her 20 years of service in law enforcement.
