The liberal-conservative Jauna Vienotiba party prevailed in the vote in Latvia, a member of the EU and NATO. The party of the Russian-speaking minority Harmonie, most recently the strongest faction, is losing a lot of votes.
Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins with his party friends on October 1, 2022.
(dpa) With 18.9 percent of the votes, the ruling party of Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins emerged as the winner of the parliamentary elections, according to data from the electoral commission in Riga on Sunday morning after counting in almost 95 percent of all polling stations. Like the German Christian Democrats, Jauna Vienotiba belongs to the EPP Group in the European Parliament. The election was overshadowed by Russia’s war in Ukraine and concerns about rising energy costs.
The second strongest force is the opposition alliance of farmers and greens (12.8 percent) ahead of the newly formed electoral alliance United List (11.0 percent). According to the information, only one of Karins’ three coalition partners made it safely into parliament: the national-conservative National Alliance (9.3 percent). While the conservatives clearly failed at the five percent hurdle, the liberal party For Development / For! just above it.
The strongest political force to date has plummeted
With the counting of the remaining votes in the Baltic Republic, the balance of power could still shift. The opposition party Harmonie in particular relies on this. The hitherto strongest political force in Latvia currently stands at just 4.8 percent. The party, whose core voters come primarily from the strong minority of Russian origin and won the most votes in the last elections, is the big loser of the vote.
A total of eight parties made it into the Saeima parliament. In addition to the United List, there are three other new groups. After voting, Karins was ready to lead the coming government. However, difficult coalition negotiations were expected.
The election campaign was dominated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its aftermath. Many citizens in the country of 1.9 million people are also worried about the sharp rise in energy prices and runaway inflation.