RIGA – Latvia's municipal elections on Saturday revealed growing political fragmentation as no clear winner emerged in the capital.
Latvia is a small country with a population of about 1.87 million. Riga has a population of about 600,000, about a third of the total population, which is why the city's results were so eagerly awaited.
Preliminary results from the Central Election Commission in Riga show the far-right populist party Latvia First, which is particularly popular among the country's Russian-speaking minority, leading with 18.2%.
In second place is the centre-left Progressive Party with 16.64%, followed by the conservative National Alliance with 14.13%.
Seven parties have won seats in the capital's council, signaling difficult coalition negotiations, the Progressive Party's lead candidate Viesturs Kleinbergs told the LETA news agency.
In an attempt to exclude populists from the Latvia First party, a coalition led by the progressives could include the nationalists of the National Alliance, the conservatives of the New Unity party and the pro-business United List party.
“I cannot imagine how the National Alliance would work under the leadership of Viesturs Kleinbergs from the Progressive Party,” Ainars Slesers, leader of the Latvian First party, said in an interview with Latvian Radio.
With the next parliamentary elections scheduled for October 2026, the latest municipal election results indicate growing activity by the Latvia First party ahead of next year's national elections.
If the party performs well, attempts to exclude it from coalition talks could lead to a difficult alliance between the National Alliance and the Progressive Party in the Saeima, Latvia's parliament.
Across Latvia, smaller parties have also gained momentum, diversifying the political landscape. However, the incumbent mayors of the major cities of Daugavpils and Liepaja have retained their positions.
The election was also marred by logistical problems: an overloaded automated vote-counting system forced a manual recount of votes across the country, delaying the announcement of final results and sparking debate about the effectiveness of the election.
While the Central Election Commission is optimistic about the higher voter turnout, which rose to 47.09% compared to 34% in 2021, participation in the elections remains low.
(ks)
Source: Source
