Latvia’s 15th Saeima election takes place today, with 1,428 candidates from 14 political party lists competing for 100 seats in parliament.
There are five electoral districts in the Saeima election – Riga with 38 seats, Vidzeme with 26, Latgale with 12, Kurzeme with 11 and Zemgale with 13. Voters abroad cast their ballots for candidate lists in the Riga electoral district. As before, voters will be able to cast their ballots at any polling station in Latvia.
Data from the Central Election Commission (CVK) show that an average of 14.3 candidates are competing for each Saeima seat in this election. Competition has decreased compared with the 14th Saeima election, when an average of 18.3 candidates competed for each seat in 2022.
This time, 14 candidate lists with a total of 1,428 candidates have been submitted for the election – five fewer lists and 398 fewer candidates than in the previous parliamentary election.
The Sovereign Power/Young Latvians alliance will appear under number one on the ballot in the 15th Saeima election, while the Progressives drew the final number, 14.
We Are Changing the Rules will run under number two, Harmony Centre under number three, the Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS) under number four, the National Alliance (NA) under number five, Gobzems’ List under number six and the United List (AS) under number seven.
Latvia First (LPV) will have number eight, New Unity (JV) number nine and the New Conservative Party (JKP) number ten. Latvia’s Development will run under number 11, Rising Sun for Latvia under number 12 and Stability! under number 13.
Seven political forces have fielded the maximum possible number of candidates across all five electoral districts – 125 each. They are the National Alliance, Latvia First, the Progressives, New Unity, the United List, the Union of Greens and Farmers and Sovereign Power/Young Latvians.
The remaining lists have fewer candidates: Harmony Centre has 105, JKP 85, Latvia’s Development 84, We Are Changing the Rules 77, Rising Sun for Latvia 75, Gobzems’ List 73 and Stability! 60.
The largest number of candidates is running in the Riga electoral district, where 527 people are competing for 38 seats. In Vidzeme, 347 candidates are competing for 26 seats; in Zemgale, 207 for 13 seats; in Latgale, 180 for 12 seats; and in Kurzeme, 173 for 11 seats.
At the same time, competition relative to the number of seats is highest in Zemgale and Kurzeme, while Riga has lower competition despite having the largest number of candidates.
LETA’s analysis of CVK data shows that candidates in the 15th Saeima election are older and more highly educated than in the previous election. The average age of candidates is 48.5 years, compared with 46.6 years in the previous election.
A total of 78.7% of candidates have reported having higher education, compared with 74.6% in 2022.
Of all candidates, 34% are women and 66% are men. The highest proportion of female candidates is in the Latgale electoral district, where women account for almost 40% of candidates. Meanwhile, 74.3% of candidates have identified themselves as Latvian and 7.6% as Russian.
Of all 1,434 candidates, 475, or one-third, also ran in the previous Saeima election, while around two-thirds are new candidates or at least did not stand in the 2022 parliamentary election.
A total of 933 in-person polling stations will operate in Latvia for this Saeima election, 15 fewer than in the previous election. At the same time, several municipalities plan to expand the network of mobile polling stations.
This year, voters can also cast their ballots at unconventional locations not previously used for voting, including Riga Airport, Riga Zoo, hospitals and shopping centres. Mobile polling stations will also operate at various locations across Latvia.
More than 83% of all polling stations will be accessible to people with reduced mobility.
Polling stations across Latvia will be open on Saturday from 08:00 to 20:00. Voters can cast their ballots at any polling station in Latvia regardless of their declared place of residence. Latvian citizens living abroad will vote for candidate lists in the Riga electoral district.
Preliminary election results will become available after polling stations close and the votes are counted.
At the polling station, each voter will receive a set of ballot papers and a stamped ballot envelope. Alone in a voting booth or screened-off area, the voter must select one candidate list.
The ballot can be left unchanged, or the voter can mark individual candidates by filling in the oval in the “for” column if they particularly support the candidate’s election, or in the “against” column if they do not support the candidate. Candidates’ names and surnames do not need to be crossed out.
The selected ballot paper must then be placed in the election envelope, which must be sealed and deposited in the ballot box.
Voters who are unable to visit a polling station due to their health, as well as people caring for someone who is ill, can apply to vote at their current location.
The CVK encourages voters to submit a written application in good time, preferably by 12:00 on 3 October. Applications received later will be fulfilled by the polling station commission if it is possible to reach the voter before voting ends.
If a voter previously deposited a ballot for safekeeping but chooses to vote again on election day, only the most recently cast ballot will be counted.
After voting ends, polling station commissions will begin counting the ballots. Votes will be counted manually during open commission meetings, which may be observed by authorised observers and media representatives.
Preliminary results will be published gradually as vote-counting data are received from polling stations.