Several candidates registered for Latvia’s 15th Saeima elections stand out significantly from the rest based on the information they submitted to the Central Election Commission (CVK). A data analysis conducted by LETA highlights unusually large numbers of vehicles or real estate holdings, multiple professional positions, substantial debt obligations, uncommon financial assets and distinctive educational backgrounds.
The analysis identifies statistical and journalistic outliers only. Their inclusion does not imply any wrongdoing or negative assessment of the candidates. Instead, the data illustrate the remarkable diversity of candidates’ social and financial profiles—from entrepreneurs with extensive vehicle fleets and property portfolios to individuals holding numerous public positions, owning assets in rare currencies or following highly unconventional educational paths.
One of the most striking differences is the number of declared vehicles. Imants Konutis, a candidate representing Latvia First (Latvija pirmajā vietā – LPV), declared 25 vehicles, the highest number among all candidates. His declaration includes passenger cars, trailers, buses, motorcycles, trucks, a motorboat, an excavator, a bulldozer, a moped and a minibus.
Aleksejs Koteļeņecs, representing Harmony Centre (Saskaņas centrs), declared 21 vehicles, including 14 motorcycles and one moped. Meanwhile, Aleksandrs Blūmentāls, a candidate for Sovereign Power/New Latvians (Suverēnā vara/Jaunlatvieši), listed 20 vehicles, comprising 12 passenger cars, five trailers and three buses.
Some declarations resemble commercial transport fleets rather than private vehicle ownership. Andrejs Kindzulis, representing the Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS), declared 19 vehicles, including nine trucks and five trailers. LPV candidate Raimonds Celmiņš reported ownership of six tractors, an excavator and a bulldozer.
Several candidates also possess extensive real estate portfolios. Sandris Bergmanis of Harmony Centre declared 27 real estate holdings, the highest number recorded. These include land plots, apartments, buildings and other types of property, primarily located in Riga and Ķekava Municipality. Aldis Ločmelis, representing the National Alliance, declared 25 properties, mostly land and other real estate located in the Latgale region. LPV candidate Edgars Bārens reported 22 properties, including 17 apartments, mainly in Valmiera Municipality.
Candidates also declared ownership or usage rights to property abroad. The declarations include assets in France, Bulgaria, Türkiye, Lithuania, Egypt, Tenerife (Spain), Finland and the United Kingdom. For example, ZZS candidate Augusts Brigmanis declared property in the United Kingdom, former world boxing champion and For Stability! (Stabilitātei!) candidate Mairis Briedis listed apartments in Türkiye, while Andrejs Klementjevs of Harmony Centre declared an apartment in Bulgaria.
Another notable category consists of candidates holding numerous professional positions. Eva Kazeka, representing the United List (Apvienotais saraksts), declared 26 separate positions, most of them related to occupational safety consultancy. Other candidates with particularly large numbers of positions include Rūdolfs Brēmanis, Edgars Čeporjums and Vjačeslavs Stepaņenko, whose declarations include roles on company boards, municipal committees, commissions and other public bodies.
Financial disclosures also reveal exceptionally large debt obligations. The highest declared liabilities belong to Gints Vilgerts, representing We Are Changing the Rules (Mēs mainām noteikumus), with debts exceeding €1.14 million. LPV candidate Kristaps Krištopans declared liabilities of €822,183, National Alliance candidate Imants Parādnieks reported €500,915, while Sergejs Pirogovs from the Gobzems List declared debts of €409,838.
At the same time, several candidates reported very substantial financial assets.
Artūrs Tjušs, representing New Unity (Jaunā Vienotība), declared financial assets exceeding €2 million, primarily consisting of business ownership interests. Jānis Vilgerts, representing We Are Changing the Rules, also declared assets exceeding €2 million, including sizeable personal loans he has issued. Atis Švinka, representing The Progressives (Progresīvie), reported financial assets worth approximately €1.7 million.
Some candidates stand out because of the diversity of their financial instruments and currencies. Besides euros, US dollars, British pounds and Swiss francs, declarations include Georgian lari, South Korean won, Hong Kong dollars, Japanese yen, Danish kroner, Russian roubles and even former Latvian lats. The declaration of Andris Eglājs, a candidate for The Progressives, includes holdings of 20.25 ounces of gold (XAU) and 15.96 ounces of silver (XAG), with a combined estimated value of approximately €74,800.
The widest variety of currencies was declared by Mārtiņš Krusts, also representing We Are Changing the Rules, whose financial assets include eight different currencies: Swiss francs, Danish kroner, euros, British pounds, Hong Kong dollars, Japanese yen, Swedish kronor and US dollars.
Educational backgrounds also vary considerably. Jeļena Stepule, Evita Šīrante and Māris Indulis Graudiņš each listed six educational qualifications. Stepule’s career path ranges from legal assistant and lawyer qualifications to occupational safety, building technician and property management qualifications. Graudiņš, meanwhile, lists several degrees from foreign universities together with programmes specialising in political campaign management.
The analysis also found 24 candidates whose highest declared education is primary school. While this is not automatically problematic, it is noteworthy given that most candidates report higher education qualifications.
Biographical information further shows that 12 candidates declared citizenship of another country in addition to Latvia. These include Canada, Australia, the United States, Germany, Spain, Lebanon, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Overall, LETA identified 991 statistical “flags” across candidate declarations covering vehicles, real estate, professional positions, financial instruments, liabilities, education and biographical information. Many candidates appear in several categories simultaneously—for example, combining extensive vehicle fleets with large property portfolios, or significant financial assets alongside substantial debt.
Taken together, these exceptional declarations illustrate the wide diversity of the 2026 Saeima election candidates. While some stand out for their academic achievements or public administration experience, others are distinguished by entrepreneurial activities, agricultural machinery, extensive property portfolios, complex financial holdings or highly unusual educational and professional trajectories.
Read also: BNN Interview | “Latvia Still Lives in the Role of a Servant.” Leonīds Loginovs Speaks Bluntly About Transit, Sanctions and Fertilizers