Off the wire
• Security for Turkish, Greek Cypriotes central to future peace deal: Turkish Cypriote leader  • Commentary: China, Vietnam expected to embrace promising ties  • Nigerian state to disinfect farms, markets to curb bird flu  • Kenya's bourse turnover rises as benchmark index falls  • News websites punished for making clickbait headlines  • Space station astronauts conduct 2nd spacewalk to upgrade power systems  • South Sudan rules out peace deal renegotiation with Machar  • Barca-Madrid cup final still possible after quarter-final draw  • S. African stocks close higher on Friday as industrials gain  • Kenya's steeplechaser seeks Antrim cross country conquest  
You are here: 　 Home

New mayor of Latvian resort Jurmala elected

Xinhua, January 14, 2017 Adjust font size:

Councilors in Latvia's resort city Jurmala elected Rita Sproge as new mayor on Friday after Gatis Truksnis under investigation for alleged involvement in illegal party financing, stepped down.

Like Truksnis, Sproge is a member of Latvia's ruling Greens and Farmers Union, and was elected as Jurmala's new mayor by 12 votes to two.

After resignation, Truksnis will continue work as a member of the city council and plans to run in this year's local elections with the hope to reclaim his position.

Truksnis released a statement on Friday saying that his life in recent months had been "full of anxiety and great distress" which had affected his health.

Truksnis was unseated as Jurmala mayor in October last year after officers of the Corruption Prevention Bureau raided his office as part of an investigation into his alleged involvement in illegal financing of the Greens and Farmers Union.

Julijs Krumins, a millionaire businessman known to be a sponsor of the Greens and Farmers Union, was also detained as part of the probing.

According to media reports, Truksnis had also used an apartment in a new housing block built by Krumins in Jurmala.

Both Truksnis and Krumins were later released, but the probing is still ongoing.

In November, Truksnis was reinstated as Jurmala mayor, but the board of the Latvian Green Party, a member of the Greens and Farmers Union, decided to expel him from the party.

Truksnis said he would contest his expulsion. Endit