On Friday, 2nd of October, in a closed ballot, the deputies of the Riga City Council elected Mārtiņš Staķis, the leader of the "Attīstībai/Par!", "PROGRESĪVIE" list, as the new chairman of the Riga City Council.
46 deputies voted for candidacy of M. Staķis; 11 deputies voted against it.
In his speech before the election, M. Staķis said: “During the pre-election period, I invited all the inhabitants of Riga to go to the ballot boxes and vote. Even if you wanted to vote for someone else. Now I can promise that I will be the mayor of all the people of Riga. I will not have my own people and strangers, we all live in our city, we are patriots of Riga, and we all want our city to be rich, friendly to life and ready to help those who are in need.”
The newly elected chairman of the Riga City Council emphasized that the political forces that formed the Coalition for Change had launched different election programs but from the very beginning had agreed that the changes were needed in the capital of Latvia. "It means city of Riga, where corruption is no longer possible, and the work is being done properly. A city that dynamically develops and offers modern solutions in all areas - from attracting of investments, to planning the traffic infrastructure and reduction of waiting lists for kindergartens. We have been elected because we are expected to do practical work for the benefit of the people of Riga, “said Staķis.
M. Staķis graduated from the University of Latvia with a degree in Economics and Business Management, was a deputy of the 13th Saeima and a parliamentary secretary of the Ministry of Defence.