According to Article 48-50 of the Constitution, Since 2009, Article 14 also foresees the right for the citizens without involvement of president: Thus, the Constitution establishes one of the possible procedures to resolve a political crisis in a parliamentary republic by entitling the President, an otherwise largely ceremonial figure, to initiate the dissolution of parliament, but at the potential cost of his own office, should his initiative be rejected by popular vote.
This constitutional power was used for the first time in the history of the Latvian state by the President, Valdis Zatlers, on May 28, 2011.
[3] This move was in response to the parliament's refusal to sanction a search at the home of Ainārs Šlesers, a Saeima member and former Cabinet minister.
[8] The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, was also dissolved unconstitutionally on May 15, 1934 following a bloodless coup organized by then-Prime Minister Kārlis Ulmanis.
The Cabinet declared a military state of emergency and suspended the activity of all parties which effectively put a ban on the work of the Saeima.