Latvian Right Tightly Wins Elections, Opposition Makes Gains

Bulgaria in EU | October 3, 2010, Sunday // 19:41|  views

Members of the Latvian election committee prepare to count votes Saturday night. Photo by EPA/BGNES

The rightist Unity Coalition received the most votes in Saturday's general elections in Latvia, gaining about 31% of the votes.

This were the first parliamentary elections since the inception of the economic crisis, which has hit the Baltic EU member especially hard.

This result would give Unity rightists, led by current Latvian PM Valdis Dombrovskis, just 33 seats in the 100-seat Latvian Saeima, or Parliament.

Results nevertheless show significant gains for other parties. Leftist Harmony Centre coalition, which is supportive of the interests of Latvia's sizeable Russian-speaking minority, follows closely behind at about 23% or 29 parliamentary seats.

In the last parliament socialists had just 18 seats.

Third-ranked is the Union of Greens and Farmers with about 22% or 22 seats, which is also an up from just 18 MPs in the last parliament.

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Tags: Latvia, general elections, Latvian Parliament, recession, unity, Harmony Center, Prime Minister, Valdis Dombrovskis

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