Latvia 1993
The elections held in March and April, 1990, produced a reformist supermajority in the 201-member Latvian parliament and led to the overturning of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic Constitution. By tacit consensus, the May 4, 1990, declaration of independence was accompanied by legislation reinstating the 1922 “Satversme” constitution, which was still perceived as legitimate since it not been modified before the Soviet Union annexed the country. Legislators in the ‘interim Supreme Council’ acknowledged the 1922 document’s dated provisions, though, and suspended all but four key articles; Soviet-era legislation continued in force where it did not directly contradict the 1922 Constitution. Despite this concession to practicality, unreformed Communist deputies boycotted the independence debate and vote. The four key articles of the 1922 constitution are coded here as essential principles; the combination of the 1922 articles and the compatible Soviet-era legislation is coded as the interim constitution. The entire process is coded as the restoration of a suspended document.
The actual process by which the legislature decided to restore the 1922 document in its entirety is unclear. A new parliament, named after the 1922 document’s Saeima, was elected in early June 1993. The collapse of both the Communist Party and the Latvian Popular Front meant an open field; these elections were contested by some 23 newly organized political parties under the amended 1922 legislation, which used a PR electoral system with a 4% threshold to select 100 deputies.
The 1922 Constitution was fully restored by parliamentary vote on July 6, 1993, and came into force the same day. 98 members voted for the document, there were no abstentions or votes against, and two members were absent.