Parliamentary elections in Latvia: Kulbergs' United List in the lead according to exit polls

Parliamentary elections in Latvia

Latvia is a member state of NATO and the European Union, which borders Russia and is home to a significant Russian-speaking minority. These parliamentary elections were the eleventh held in the country since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. 14 parties were competing for the 100 seats of the Saeima, with a proportional system. The latest polls already showed the United List, the party of Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs, as the favourite. The exit polls, when the polls closed, confirmed the polls.

The exit polls: Kulbergs' United List in the lead

According to the exit polls, in fact, the Joint List of Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs would have achieved victory with 35.6% of the votes: it would mean an increase of 24 percentage points compared to the previous electoral round. Kulbergs, who supports Latvia's military buildup and support for Ukraine, will however, according to exit polls, have to build a coalition with other parties to remain in power. In second place would be the populist party "Latvia First" of the Latvian tycoon Ainars Slesers (Lpv, 11.3%) and in third "The Progressists" (11.1%). According to exit polls, the right-wing populist and pro-Russian electoral alliance made up of the "Sovereign Power" and "Alliance of Young Latvians" parties is clearly growing: with 10.6% of the votes, the coalition came close to second place. The big loser would be the Union of Greens and Farmers (Zzs), which with 3.7% of the votes would not exceed the threshold of 5%: the party, which has been part of the leadership of the Latvian government for decades, in 2004 contributed to Latvia becoming the first EU country to have a head of government belonging to the Greens.

The turnout

Approximately 1.5 million people were entitled to vote. According to data released by the Latvian Central Election Committee, turnout reached 25.5% at 12pm. Furthermore, taking advantage of early voting, 11.2% of voters (over 169 thousand people) had already expressed their preference in recent days.

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Elections in Latvia, political scenario and electoral campaign

Themes of the electoral campaign

The election campaign was marked by the debate on the rising cost of living and by security concerns, given that Latvia borders both Russia and Belarus (UPDATES ON THE WAR IN UKRAINE). Andris Kulbergs, the current Latvian prime minister, has only been in office since May: the previous government fell due to a controversy over Ukrainian drones. His centre-right and conservative alliance, the United List, was also leading in the polls but experts predicted that his coalition would emerge weakened due to the advance of populist parties. A belief strengthened by the fact that discontent is growing in the country: many Latvians complain about high prices and low wages, the economy is stagnant, the healthcare system is under pressure, emigration and the aging population continue to represent important challenges.

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