The ruling coalition parties at their weekly meeting February 12 supported a proposal by the National Alliance to ban former KGB agents and informers from running in general elections in Latvia.

The deputy chairman of the National Alliance, Janis Dombrava, and Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis (Greens and Farmers Union) announced the agreement to the press after the meeting of the three ruling coalition parties (the third one being the Unity party).

Under the existingLatvian law, persons who were the staff members of the Soviet Union or foreign security, intelligence or counterintelligence services, are banned from running in the elections but under the proposal the ban will be extended to also include lower-level agents and informers of the KGB.

The Latvian parliament in early February sent to its committees for review a similar proposal about banning former KGB agents and informers from running in the local elections.