Latvia: centrist party wins legislative elections, parties representing almost striped Russian speakers

The Prime Minister, Artures Krisjanis Karins, will be renewed at the end of the election while the historic Russian Union of Latvia training, close to the Kremlin, will no longer be represented in Parliament.

Le Monde

The centrist party of the outgoing Prime Minister, Artors Krisjanis Karins, won the legislative elections in Latvia, according to the partial results emanating from 96 % of the polling stations broadcast on Sunday October 2. In the new parliament, the new unit centrist party obtained 18.94 % of the votes, renewing Mr. Karins at the head of the government. Only one party supported by the Russian -speaking minority, stability !, Hashed the eligibility threshold of 5 % (6.75 %), and the historical training of Russian -speaking harmony will not be represented, as is the Russian Union of Latvia, Close to the Kremlin.

Two days before the ballot, the president, Egils Levits, had called the citizens of this Baltic country, member of the European Union and the organization of the North Atlantic Treaty, to go to the ballot boxes, everything By warning them against pro-Kremlin parties close to the important Russian-speaking minority, which “hesitated to declare that is the aggressor and who is the victim at the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine”.

a polling station in Sigulda, October 1. A polling station in Sigulda, October 1. Gints Ivuskans/AFP

The war in Ukraine, aspiration for energy independence from Russia and inflation pushed this country of 1.8 million D ‘inhabitants to bet on proven officials.

concerned with Russian aggressiveness, such as Poles and their Baltic, Lithuanian and Estonian neighbors, the majority of letters approve the priorities displayed by the outgoing government: increased defense budget, solidarity with Ukraine and improvement of Energy security.

Supported by Russian speakers – around 30 % of the population -, the Harmonie Party, regularly at the top of the legislative elections for a decade without ever finding an ally to govern and having come close to 20 % of the votes in 2018, knew, knew, experienced, knew, Since then, a gradual fall, accentuated by corruption cases, which made him lose the town hall of Riga.

 A polling station in Riga, 1st october. A polling station in Riga, October 1. GINTS IVUSKANS/AFP

/Media reports.