The Latvian Prime Minister’s centre-right party won the national elections
HELSINKI (AP) – Latvia’s ruling center-right party won the most votes in the country’s parliamentary election, with centrist parties second and pro-Moscow parties falling in a vote shaped by Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to published results. Sunday.
With more than 99% of the votes counted, Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins’ New Unity party received 19% support, while the opposition Greens and Farmers’ Union was second with 12.5% and the new centrist electoral alliance United List, which consists of several regional parties. — was third with 10.9 percent.
Only eight parties or electoral alliances exceeded the 5 percent threshold and received representation in the 100-seat parliament. The centre-right National Alliance and the centrist Kehitys/Pest!, both part of Karins’ current minority coalition, are among them.
None of the parties serving Latvia’s ethnic Russian minority, who make up more than 25 percent of the country’s 1.9 million inhabitants, managed to win a seat in parliament.
Born in Wilmington, Delaware, the 57-year-old Karins, a dual citizen of Latvia and the United States, previously told the media that it would be easiest to continue with the same coalition government if his party were to win.
Valdis Dombrovskis, vice-president of the European Commission and former prime minister of Latvia, said the Baltic country is currently “facing a very complex geopolitical situation in connection with Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.”
Russia’s neighboring country Latvia joined the European Union and NATO in 2004.
“The victory of the prime minister’s party, New Unity, means in my opinion that people voted for an experienced political force with a clear Euro-Atlantic orientation and who can handle and lead the country in this complex situation,” Dombrovskis told New Unity supporters. capital Riga.
Saturday’s election was a blow to especially Moscow-friendly Harmony, which has traditionally served as an umbrella for most of Latvia’s Russian-speaking voters, including Belarusians and Ukrainians.
Harmony received only 4.8% of the vote, compared to the 2018 election, when it received almost 20% of the vote, the most of any single party, but was left to the government by the other parties.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, according to observers, had a significant impact on voter attitudes and led to a deep divide between Russian-speakers who oppose the war and those who support it. Latvia’s economic situation, including steep energy prices, was the main election issue.
The initial voting percentage was 59.4%, higher than in the 2018 election, according to the Central Election Commission.
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