In preparation for 14th Saeima elections, which are scheduled for 1 October this year, political parties in Latvia have started submitting their candidate lists and election campaigns. However, already seem unusually lukewarm, politologist Filips Rajevskis told TV3 programme 900 seconds.
Looking from the side, it seems parties still haven’t found internal agreement when they should start their political campaigns, said Rajevskis.
«We can see one party has released videos and has picked their prime minister candidate. Let’s put it this way – actors are on stage, the play is about to start. Other political parties are saying some things but then go silent,» said the politologist.
At the last Saeima elections overall activity was around 54%. This autumn activity is expected to be lower if no intrigue surfaces in political promotion campaigns, predicts Rajevskis.
«People want a show and people want intrigue – these two things are needed to get people to vote. […] If we do not see these two things, I fear activity may drop to 40%, which is rather dangerous.»
The politologist believes in the context of pre-election discussions it is important for politicians to discuss topics that are on people’s minds – domestic and external security, healthcare and education.
As previously reported, Latvian boxer Mairis Briedis has attracted a lot of attention both for his position on the Russian-Ukrainian war and his decision to run in the upcoming 14th Saema elections as a member of Harmony political party.
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Rajevskis said it is hard to understand the party’s intentions behind inviting the boxer to run for them in elections. He added that there are no guarantees Briedis will be elected at all.