Current Prime Minister Kuhlbergs wins Latvian parliamentary election, Joint List wins biggest victory

The results of the Latvian parliamentary election voted on the 3rd have been roughly determined. The center-right party "United List" (United List) led by current Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs has won the country's largest parliamentary election victory since its independence in 1991. It is expected to form a coalition government with other small parties that will continue to be pro-European and pro-Ukrainian.

According to 97% of the votes that have been cast, the "Joint List" has a vote rate of 35.3%, which is enough to win 42 seats in the 100-seat Congress; followed by the populist "Latvia First" party that tried its best to win over Russian voters before the election, with a vote rate of 13.1%; ranked third and fourth are the pro-Russian "Sovereign Power" party, and the "National" party that advocates toughening on Russia. Alliance), with vote rates of 11.7% and 8.9% respectively.

Although the "Joint List" failed to gain a majority in Congress on its own, political scientist Roberts Kits pointed out that the "Joint List" appears to be able to join forces with the nationalist party "National Alliance" (National Alliance) or cooperate with the liberal "Progressives" (Progressives) to ensure control of a majority in Congress.

Kulbergs, a 47-year-old businessman, was appointed Prime Minister of Latvia in May this year, replacing former Prime Minister Evika Silina who resigned due to her failure to properly handle the drone intrusion in Ukraine. Kitts said Kuhlbergs created a persona of "getting things done" and promised to improve governance, cut red tape and cut public spending. He successfully convinced voters that he would do something different and bring new energy, but he also had a heavy responsibility.

Kuhlbergs was deeply delighted to win a big victory and said bluntly, "The result is amazing. I did not expect such a result." He promised to continue to support Ukraine and maintain a tough stance against Moscow. Kuhlbergs said any economic relationship with Russia would weaken Latvia, which would make money, but would also be a weakness that Russia could exploit.

In addition, during his campaign, Kuhlbergs promised to strengthen Latvia's anti-drone capabilities and maintain defense spending at 5% of gross domestic product (GDP).

Latvia, with a population of 1.9 million, is sandwiched between Estonia and Lithuania, bordering the Baltic Sea to the west and Russia and Belarus to the east. It was annexed and controlled by the former Soviet Union in the past and is now a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU).