CEC compiles preliminary results of 15th Saeima election

Latvia's Central Election Commission (CEC) has compiled preliminary results from the 15th Saeima election held on October 3. According to the data, 806,641 voters cast ballots, representing 51.79% of those eligible to vote.

Party results

The 'United List' received the strongest backing, with 35.288% of the vote. It was followed by 'Latvia First' with 13.076% and 'Sovereign Power / Union of New Latvians' with 11.710%. Three other parties also cleared the 5% threshold required to enter parliament: the National Alliance (8.897%), 'Progressives' (7.878%), and 'New Unity' (6.362%).

Several parties fell short of the 5% barrier: the Union of Greens and Farmers (4.401%), 'We Change the Rules' (3.428%), 'For the Development of Latvia' (2.179%), 'For Stability!' (1.997%), 'Rising Sun for Latvia' (1.330%), the 'Gobzems List' (0.982%), the 'Harmony Centre' political party association (0.820%), and the New Conservative Party (0.327%).

Process and next steps

The CEC stressed that the published figures remain preliminary, with final confirmation to be decided at a separate commission meeting. The commission assessed that the election overall proceeded in a relatively calm and orderly manner. A number of situations did require additional intervention, and the CEC, working together with other involved institutions, made decisions to keep the voting process running smoothly and ensure accurate vote counting.

The outcome was discussed in more depth by an editor from Latvian Television's program 'Kas notiek Latvijā?' and a journalist from Delfi's national news desk on the 'Spried ar Delfi' podcast, which examined the election's apparent winners and losers, the shape of a future governing coalition, and the reasons behind the low voter turnout.