Latvia vote poses question on Russian as EU language

[DktoInc]

http://euobserver.com/851/115269

eventhough the result of the Vote in Latvia was a NO with 75%,
Daugavpils - the second most populous in the country, the YES option was favoure by 85 per cent of the population, and in the Daugavpils region (Daugavpils novads) - by a majority of 65 per cent.

http://www.electoralgeography.com/new/en/countries/l/latvia/latvia-russian-language-status-referendum-2012.html


Looks like it is opening new can of whooping in the whole EU.

[Emil]

i think it is important to keep in mind the fact that only those with latvian passport can vote in that referendum and therefore as majority of Russian speaking people still dont have Latvian passport (but rather have an Alien passport), they couldnt participate, therefore making this 75% number kind of crap.

[Avtal]

i think it is important to keep in mind the fact that only those with latvian passport can vote in that referendum and therefore as majority of Russian speaking people still dont have Latvian passport (but rather have an Alien passport), they couldnt participate, therefore making this 75% number kind of crap.

According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latvia), the population of Latvia is 62% Latvian and 27% Russian. So the vote outcome would probably be similar, even if all Russian speakers could vote.

It seems to me that Latvia would be better off making Russian an official language, but I understand that Latvia's recent history makes them reluctant to do so.

More info:
Non-citizens_(Latvia) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-citizens_(Latvia)) (why Russian speakers can't vote until they learn Latvian)
Language_policy_in_Latvia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_policy_in_Latvia)

Avtal