Board of Latvia's Unity party steps down

The board of the Latvian political party Unity (Vienotība) is stepping down following the 15th Saeima election, in which the party failed to achieve the result it wanted. Evika Siliņa, a former prime minister of Latvia and a board member, spoke about the coming changes. The move means the party is starting to reorganise ahead of a congress that will decide its direction.

What Siliņa says

The former prime minister described the election result as a "yellow card". In her view, it calls for a critical review of both past decisions and the party's communication with the public. Siliņa stresses that the party must change, listen to voters more and speak to people more often, more directly and more clearly. She wants to build a more open dialogue by hearing questions, opinions and criticism.

Before the congress, particular attention will go to the views of young people and new members. These will be collected to establish what changes the party needs.

Who sat on the board

The board had 14 politicians. It was chaired by Edmunds Jurēvics, with Raimonds Čudars and Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica as his deputies. Other members included Arvils Ašeradens, Evika Siliņa, Rihards Kozlovskis, Vilnis Ķirsis, Inese Lībiņa-Egnere and other party representatives.

Election results

Siliņa noted that a statement from the United List on its next steps and possible talks with current coalition partners is expected on Monday, 19 October.

The United List (Apvienotais saraksts) won the 15th Saeima election decisively, taking 41 seats. It was followed by Latvia First (Latvija pirmajā vietā) with 17 seats and Sovereign Power/Alliance of Young Latvians with 15. The National Alliance and the Progressives won 10 seats each, and New Unity (Jaunā vienotība) won seven.