Overview
- Lawmakers backed withdrawal 56–32 after a 13-hour debate, advancing a move critics say weakens protections against violence toward women.
- Support came from opposition nationalists, pro-Russian and centrist factions, and the Alliance of Greens and Farmers, exposing strains in the ruling tripartite coalition.
- Prime Minister Evika Siliņa opposed the effort, saying politicizing victims’ experiences is cruel and at odds with the government’s earlier commitment to ratify the pact.
- If signed by the president, Latvia must notify the Council of Europe, and withdrawal would take effect three months after notification.
- Roughly 5,000 people rallied in Riga against the move as Nordic lawmakers and the Council of Europe’s assembly condemned it, and, if completed, Latvia would become the first EU member to leave the treaty after Turkey’s 2021 exit.