Voting for Parliamentary Elections Starts Tomorrow in Latvia

1434 candidates from 14 political formations will compete to enter the 100-seat parliament in the country, which has a population of approximately 1 million 840 thousand and nearly 1 million 550 thousand voters. In the elections, in order for a political formation to enter the parliament, it must overcome the electoral threshold by receiving at least 5 percent of the votes.

In the elections to be held in 5 constituencies in the country, Riga will be represented in the parliament with 38 deputies, Vidzeme with 26, Zemgale with 13, Latgale with 12 and Kurzeme with 11 deputies. The ballot boxes will open at 08.00 tomorrow local time and close at 20.00. Vote counting will begin after the polls close, and the Latvian Central Election Commission (CVK) will publish the preliminary results on its website as the counting is completed.

Official election results are expected to be certified by October 12, while the first session of the new parliament is planned to be held on November 3.

KULLBERGS' COALITION TOP IN POLL

In the survey conducted by the SKDS Research Center between 4 and 16 September before the election, the Joint List (Apvienotais Saraksts), represented by Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs, who started his duty in May, ranked first with 14.4 percent.

The Sovereign Power/Union of New Latvians (Suverena Vara/Apvieniba Jaunlatviesi) alliance, with Julija Stepaņenko as prime minister candidate, received 9.4 percent support, and the Latvia First Party (Latvija Pirmaja Vieta), with Ainars Slesers as prime minister candidate, received 9.2 percent support.

Survey results indicate that a total of 7 political formations will receive enough votes to exceed the 5 percent threshold in the election and that a government may be formed after the election with a coalition of more than one political formation.

ELECTION AGENDA IN LATVIA

During the election campaigns, national security, the war in Ukraine and relations with Russia, as well as the cost of living, taxes, family policies and the future of the Rail Baltica Project, which is planned to connect the Baltic countries to Europe's railway network via Poland, were among the prominent topics.

Prime Minister Kulbergs advocates continuing support for Ukraine and strengthening Latvia's defense capacity, drawing on the country's experience gained during the war, especially against unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Stepaņenko's election campaign highlights the following: not increasing taxes for 5 years, increasing support for families, reintroducing optional Russian education in schools, abolishing compulsory military service and freezing the Rail Baltica Project.

Slesers also included economic and foreign policy proposals in his election campaign, such as reducing taxes, strengthening relations with the USA and canceling the Rail Baltica Project.

The security aspect of the election campaign also came to the fore due to Latvia's border with Russia and the recent UAV incidents on NATO's eastern flank. The Latvian State Security Service (VDD) also warned against disinformation campaigns against anti-Russian political parties and candidates before the elections.