Candidate lists for 15th Saeima elections submitted: 14 lists, 1434 candidates, competition lower than before
Fourteen candidate lists with 1434 candidates have been submitted for the 15th Saeima elections, 22% fewer than for the 14th Saeima. The highest competition per seat is in Zemgale and Kurzeme.
The Central Election Commission (CVK) has released data after the deadline for submitting candidate lists for the 15th Saeima elections. By Saturday evening, 14 lists were submitted, featuring 1434 candidates, averaging 14.3 contestants per parliamentary seat. Compared to the previous elections, the number of lists decreased by five and candidates by 398 (about 22%). In the 14th Saeima elections, there were 19 lists with 1832 candidates and 18.3 per seat.
The highest competition is in Zemgale, where 15.9 candidates vie for each seat, and Kurzeme with 15.7. Latgale has 15, Riga 13.9, and Vidzeme 13.3 candidates per seat. In absolute numbers, Riga electoral district has the most candidates – 527 – for 38 seats. Vidzeme has 347 candidates for 26 seats, Zemgale 207 for 13, Latgale 180 for 12, and Kurzeme 173 for 11.
Seven political forces submitted the maximum possible 125 candidates across all five districts: the National Alliance, Latvia First, The Progressives, New Unity, the United List, the Union of Greens and Farmers, and Sovereign Power/Alliance New Latvians. Shorter lists were submitted by Stability! (60 candidates), Gobzems List (73), Rising Sun for Latvia (75), We Change the Rules (77), Development of Latvia (84), JKP New Conservative Party (85), and Harmony Centre (105). Some lists are heavily concentrated in Riga; for example, Stability! fielded 38 of its 60 candidates in Riga but only four in Vidzeme.
Among all candidates, 34% are women, slightly down from 36.3% in the previous election. The highest share of women is in Latgale (39.4%) and the lowest in Vidzeme (31.1%). Higher education is held by 78.7% of candidates, secondary education by 19.6%, and primary education by 1.7%. By ethnicity, 74.3% are Latvian, 7.6% Russian, and 15.1% did not specify. Nearly 38% of candidates live in Riga, and five have no registered residence in Latvia. Regarding marital status, 53.4% are married, 13.2% single, 9.1% divorced, 1.5% widowed, and 22.8% did not indicate.
The 15th Saeima elections are scheduled for October 3, with candidate submission open from June 20 to July 5. The current data show a smaller and more concentrated candidate pool compared to the previous election cycle.
