Voter turnout in 15th Saeima election lags behind previous elections
More than 788,000 people had voted in Latvia's 15th Saeima election by Saturday evening, with turnout trailing the 2022 and 2018 results.
According to partial data compiled by the Central Election Commission, at least 788,000 voters have cast ballots in the 15th Saeima election, representing 50.59% of all eligible voters. The majority — more than 618,500 voters, or 39.7% of those eligible — voted on Saturday, while the rest took advantage of early voting in the preceding days.
How the election is organized
The main election day is October 3, when 1,428 candidates from 14 political party lists are competing for 100 seats in the Saeima. On Saturday, polling stations across Latvia remained open until 8 p.m.
Comparison with previous elections
Current turnout is lower than in both previous Saeima elections. In 2022, 59.41% of eligible voters cast ballots, while in 2018 the figure was 54.56%. It should be noted that the voting procedures differed from this year's: in previous elections, polling stations stayed open an hour longer on election day itself, while early voting was available for only three days and at a limited number of locations.
In total, 1,557,615 people in Latvia and abroad are eligible to vote this year. Final turnout figures and election results will be compiled once all polling stations have finished their work.
