Preparations Begin for 15th Saeima Elections: Key Players and Intrigues
The 15th Saeima elections will take place in autumn 2026. This article covers the main political forces, election procedures, and possible coalition scenarios.
With only three and a half months left until the 15th Saeima elections, scheduled from September 28 to October 3, 2026, parties must submit their candidate lists by July 5. Voters can register for postal voting from August 29 to September 25 via the portal Latvia.gov.lv. Voting is allowed at any polling station, but it is important to note that candidate lists differ across five electoral districts: Riga, Vidzeme, Zemgale, Latgale, and Kurzeme.
The current coalition consists of four parties: the United List (AS), the National Alliance (NA), New Unity (JV), and the Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS). The United List has nominated Andris Kulbergs as its prime ministerial candidate, the National Alliance will be led by Ilze Indriksone, and ZZS by Viktors Valainis. New Unity has yet to choose its leader; possible candidates include Edmunds Jurēvics, Arvils Ašeradens, or Valdis Dombrovskis returning from Brussels.
The opposition currently includes Latvia First (LPV) led by Ainārs Šlesers, the Progressives (Andris Šuvajevs), and Stability! (Svetlana Čulkova). New forces such as Sovereign Power and Alvis Hermanis' initiative "We Change the Rules" also hope to enter parliament. Parties that failed to make it in the previous elections—Development of Latvia and Harmony—are seeking a comeback.
Key intrigues: the possibility of a three-party coalition without New Unity (AS, NA, and ZZS would need more than 50 seats); Latvia First's high ratings but limited coalition options; and the announcement of New Unity's leader.
