"Illegitimate congress"

Latvian MP Aivars Markots, who was booted from the New Party during its board meeting on Feb. 2, has asked the Ministry of Justice to evaluate the legitimacy of the New Party_s 3rd congress. According to Latvian daily Diena, Markots believes the congress was illegitimate and its decisions were unlawful. He said the actions of New Party chair Ainars Slesers and his "cohorts" and their biographies echo the "methods and technology of the KGB." New Party chairman Raimonds Pauls told Diena that Markots was upset over the fact that "he will never become a party chief." Markots was dismissed because the New Party board felt he was "damaging the party_s image." Markots was a foreign affairs advisor to former Latvian President Guntis Ulmanis.