For the first time, no Saeima election precincts in Moscow and Minsk

Latvia's Central Election Commission (CVK) has published on its website the list of voting precincts that will operate abroad during this round of Saeima elections. Compared with previous elections, the new list reveals a notable change: for the first time, it does not include precincts in Moscow, the capital of Russia, or Minsk, the capital of Belarus.

This means that Latvian citizens living in or currently staying in these two cities will not be able to cast a direct vote for Saeima candidates at a local precinct, as had been possible in earlier elections.

How foreign precincts work

Latvian citizens residing or staying abroad have traditionally been given the opportunity to take part in Saeima elections by voting at precincts the CVK sets up at Latvia's diplomatic and consular missions in various countries. Ahead of every election, the commission approves and publishes a full list of all the foreign cities and locations where such precincts will open.

The fact that Moscow and Minsk are absent from this list is confirmed directly by the information published on the CVK website. This indicates that, going forward, Latvian citizens in Russia and Belarus will no longer have direct access to voting within those countries' territory, unlike the arrangement that existed previously.

The source report does not specify the particular reasons why these two cities were excluded from the list of foreign precincts this time.