Latvian voters are called to the ballot boxes on the occasion of the legislative elections on Saturday. The Party of the Head of Government, Artures Krisjanis Karins, should come in the lead, according to the latest polls.
Le Monde with AFP
Latvians began to vote on Saturday 1 er October, to renew their parliament, in the shadow of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, and were preparing, according to analysts, To keep the Prime Minister Centrist, Artures Krisjanis Karins, at the head of the government. This result seems likely because of the weakening of populists, conservatives and the social democratic party harmony (close to the Russian-speaking minority), while the pro-Western party of Mr. Karins, unit, is at the top of the surveys with approximately 13 % of voting intentions.
Two days before the election, President Egils Levits had called the citizens of this Baltic country, member of the European Union and NATO, to go to the ballot boxes, while warning them against professional parties -Kremlin close to the important Russian -speaking minority, who “hesitated to declare that is the aggressor and who is the victim at the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine”.
“It is very likely that Karins will obtain from President Egils Levits the designation to form his second cabinet, but the success of this attempt will depend on the number of small parties which will exceed the eligibility threshold of 5 % and their possible agreement To support Karins, “said political scientist (AFP), political scientist Marcis Krastins. “The Russians who invade Ukraine help Karins because, in these moments, people tend to come together around the flag,” he adds.
The conflict in Ukraine, the aspiration for energy independence from Russia, inflation and expensive energy push this country of 1.8 million inhabitants to bet on officials who proven them.
Solidarity with Ukraine
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 Since a gradual fall, accentuated by corruption cases, which have made him lose the town hall of Riga. It is only credited with 5.1 % of voting intentions in a survey published this month, barely above the eligibility threshold.
The Russian-speaking electorate has partly turned towards two new parties, the Russian Union of Latvia and Stability, which are, one, openly pro-Kremlin, the other, populist, favorable to Russia, Although less radical. In total, nineteen lists of political parties or their alliances presented 1,829 candidates for the hundred seats in the Riga Parliament.
According to a recent survey of the Skds private institute, the unit party of Mr. Karins is in the lead with 13.3 % of voting intentions. It is followed by the Union of Peasants and Greens (7.8 %, Center right), currently in opposition, and the National Alliance (7.3 %, Center right), one of the five parties of the coalition in power. The polling stations that opened at 7 a.m. (6 a.m. French time) must close at 8 p.m. (7 p.m. French time).