Varakļāni Municipality

Varakļāni Municipality (Latvian: Varakļānu novads) is a municipality in Latgale, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by merging Varakļāni town, Murmastiene parish and Varakļāni parish; the administrative centre being Varakļāni.

Varakļāni Municipality
Varakļānu novads
Municipality
Coat of arms of Varakļāni Municipality
Coat of arms
Country Latvia
Formed2009
CentreVarakļāni
Government
 • Council ChairMāris Justs (LA)
Area
[1]
 • Total277.95 km2 (107.32 sq mi)
 • Land272.09 km2 (105.05 sq mi)
 • Water5.86 km2 (2.26 sq mi)
Population
 (2023)[2]
 • Total2,986
 • Density11/km2 (28/sq mi)
Websitewww.varaklani.lv

Parts of Teiči Nature Reserve are located in Varakļāni Municipality. The population in 2020 was 2,990.[3]

Within the 2021 Latvian administrative reform it was initially planned to merge Varakļāni Municipality into Rēzekne Municipality. After protests from locals, parts of which wanted to preserve the status quo or preferred joining Madona Municipality, the municipal council submitted a case to the Constitutional Court of Latvia in June 2020. On 28 May 2021 the court declared the planned merge is unconstitutional.[4] However, on May 31 the Saeima voted to proceed with the merge, which prompted the involvement of the President of Latvia Egils Levits to avoid triggering a constitutional crisis.[5] Ultimately, a decision was made to postpone the decision on the future of the Varakļāni and Rēzekne municipalities until 2025.[6] Due to this, the 2021 Latvian local elections for the new municipalities were also held in Varakļāni.[7][8]

See also

References
  1. "Reģionu, novadu, pilsētu un pagastu kopējā un sauszemes platība gada sākumā". Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  2. "Iedzīvotāju skaits pēc tautības reģionos, pilsētās, novados, pagastos, apkaimēs un blīvi apdzīvotās teritorijās gada sākumā (pēc administratīvi teritoriālās reformas 2021. gadā) 2021 - 2022". Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  3. "ISG020. Population number and its change by statistical region, city, town, 21 development centres and counties". Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia. 2020-01-01. Retrieved 2021-02-12.
  4. Auers, Dainis (June 2021). "CONTINUITY IN CHANGE? Latvia's Local Governments after Regional Reform and Local Government Elections" (PDF). Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Baltikum - Perspective. ISBN 978-9934-8853-5-8.
  5. "President of Latvia expects Varakļāni region status issue to be resolved according to Satversme | Valsts prezidenta kanceleja". www.president.lv. 2021-06-01. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  6. "Deputies elected in Varaklani: People's election was motivated by the future of the local area after the regional reform". Baltics News. 2021-09-12. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  7. Šteinfelde, Ilze (2021-09-13). "The election results confirm that combining Varakļāni and Rēzekne municipalities would be a mistake". Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  8. "Administrative territorial reform comes to force in Latvia". Baltic News Network - News from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia. 2021-07-01. Retrieved 2022-02-02.

56°36′N 26°45′E



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