He explained that the exclusion of a candidate from the list is only possible in certain cases provided by law and based on a court decision. Currently, there is no such decision. Moreover, even if the corresponding court decision had been made, there are about 20 days left until the elections, and it is already impossible to produce new ballots. Thus, from the perspective of organizing the elections, nothing is changing for the Central Election Commission at this time. The intention to exclude Uzulnieks from the party does not affect the situation either. Non-partisan individuals can be on the candidate lists for deputies. A candidate can join a party after the elections or remain non-partisan even after being elected to parliament. Zviedris also explained that until the Central Election Commission makes a final decision on the election results, candidates for deputies cannot withdraw their candidacies. If the electoral process proceeds without delays, preliminary results will be announced first, and around the middle of next month, the Central Election Commission will be able to approve the final election results. Only after that will each elected candidate be able to decide whether to accept the deputy mandate or refuse it. Until the final results are approved, such an opportunity does not exist, emphasized the head of the Central Election Commission. As reported, Uzulnieks, who heads the party list in Zemgale for the upcoming Saeima elections, was detained on Saturday, September 12, for driving under the influence of alcohol. His breath test recorded 3.09 promille of alcohol. Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs (OS) ordered Uzulnieks to be relieved of his duties as Minister of Welfare. The Minister of Agriculture has been appointed as the acting Minister of Welfare until the current government's term ends.
