Latvia - Elections 2022
The 01 October 2022 parliamentary elections in Latvia were competitive and pluralistic, according to the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) election assessment mission, with stakeholders expressing confidence in the administration of the electoral process. The legal framework is suitable for organizing democratic elections, and certain recent changes, including on the introduction of a centralized electronic voter register, were in line with previous ODIHR recommendations. Despite these recent reforms, some recommendations remain unaddressed, including on candidacy rights, decriminalization of defamation and guaranteeing the rights of international and citizen observers.
Latvia is a parliamentary republic with legislative powers vested in the 100-member unicameral parliament’s House of Representatives (Saeima). Executive power is exercised by the government, led by a prime minister, who is nominated by the president and approved by the parliament.3 The president serves as Head of State and is elected through an open, absolute-majority parliamentary vote for a maximum of two four-year terms.
The 100-member unicameral parliament is elected for a four-year term through a proportional open list system, with five multi-member constituencies corresponding to five regions: Kurzeme, Latgale, Riga, Vidzeme and Zemgale. The number of members of parliament to be elected in each of the constituencies is determined by a formula detailed in the law, which is based on the number of registered voters in each constituency, and which provides for equal voting powers and a balanced distribution of seats among the electoral districts, in line with international good practice.19 A candidate list is eligible for the allocation of mandates if it has obtained at least five per cent of votes cast nationwide.
The 2018 parliamentary elections resulted in a five-party coalition of parliamentary newcomers, “Who owns the State?”, the New Conservative Party, and Development/For!, along with incumbents National Alliance and New Unity. Internal struggles of “Who owns the State?” led to party dissolution, resulting in a residual, four-party coalition announced in June 2021. The coalition has been the longest serving in modern Latvian history, the only one to serve a full four-year term.
Latvia held local elections in 2021 for 42 municipal councils and extraordinary Riga City Council elections in 2020. A range of parties were successful in attracting the local vote, although with a very low voter turnout, 34 and 41 per cent respectively.6 Concerns related to possible low voter participation was repeatedly raised ahead of the 1 October parliamentary elections by various stakeholders.
The 2022 parliamentary elections were administered professionally by election management bodies in a three-tiered structure led by the Central Election Commission (CEC), which enjoyed broad public confidence. Several interlocutors pointed to an overall lack of budget and limited staff as persistent challenges to the CEC in the organization of the electoral process, including in the provision of voter education.
The war in Ukraine and moderate polarization related to COVID-19 crisis management marked public discourse in the election year, which also focused on heightened geopolitics, regional security, and related economic, health, and energy crises. Public debate on security and economic issues was frequently interrupted by revived discussions on minority issues, such as long-contested limitations on the use of non-state languages in education.
In September 2022, the parliament adopted amendments foreseeing that, as of September 2025, all primary education programmes in Latvia are to be taught exclusively in the state language. The parliament is currently discussing additional legislative initiatives to curtail the use of minority languages in the service sector. Additional initiatives included the planned demolition of 69 Soviet-era monuments.
Citizens at least 18 years of age have the right to vote and, in line with international standards, the legislation does not restrict the right to vote based on intellectual and psycho-social disabilities or due to imprisonment. The law provides for diverse and inclusive voting methods, including homebound voting, early voting, postal and out-of-country voting as alternatives to in-person voting at regular polling stations.
The election campaign was competitive and pluralistic, and existing rules on campaigning were assessed positively by most political parties, with a few describing cases of over-regulation. While some interlocutors described the campaign as divided along ethnic and language lines, only a third of contestants campaigned exclusively in the Latvian language, with many also conducting outreach in Russian and other languages. Many parties’ programmes, as well as some organized debate content, touched on issues related to the rights of national minorities, women, youth, persons with disabilities and other underrepresented groups, but overall, the campaign did not prominently feature such messages. Campaign materials were rarely produced in accessible formats, which creates challenges for persons with visual or hearing impairments to access information about contestants and make an informed choice.
The regulatory framework for political and campaign finance underwent substantial revision since the previous elections. Increased annual state funding to political parties was welcomed by most interlocutors as fostering competition and reducing reliance on private donors, but was introduced without mechanisms to promote the political participation of under-represented groups. The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau enjoyed general trust among political contestants in terms of its control of political and campaign finances, and its regular publication of reported financial data during the election period, including expenditures on traditional and online advertising, enhanced the transparency of the process. However, some regulations could be strengthened further, such as requirements on the publication of sanctions.
The media landscape is pluralistic, and the legal framework guarantees the freedoms of expression and access to public information. Defamation remains a criminal offence, despite previous ODIHR recommendations. Both public and private media extensively covered the campaign in their regular news editions and programmes and by organizing debates, enhancing opportunities for voters to develop an informed choice and providing candidates with the possibility to introduce their platforms. Some ODIHR EAM interlocutors raised concerns related to cases of apparent political pressure on public media and its lack of sustainable funding.
While some interlocutors argued that the campaign was divided along ethnic and linguistic lines, only a third of political parties campaigned exclusively in the Latvian language, with many conducting some campaign activities in Russian and other languages, often on their Facebook pages. Several interlocutors described initial concerns that heightened polarization amid the COVID19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine could lead to an increase in intolerant rhetoric or contribute to significant disinformation campaigns and attempts to interfere in the elections, but ultimately felt confident that no such incidents materialized which would have impacted the electoral process. The intolerant statements were made repeatedly by the same few political contestants, targeting mainly Russian-speakers, as well as a woman journalist.
Latvian Prime Minister Arturs Krisjanis Karins, a staunch critic of Vladimir Putin, won a decisive victory 03 October 2022 in general elections as voters punished a party backed by ethnic Russians. Bolstered by its vocal opposition of the Russian president’s invasion of Ukraine, Karins’s New Unity won 19 percent of the vote.
A total of seven candidate lists passed the 5 percent threshold required to earn seats in the 100-seat Saeima: New Unity (JV), with 18.97 percent, the Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS) with 12.44 percent, the United List with 11.01 percent, National Alliance (NA) with 9.29 percent, For Stability! (S!) with 6.8 percent, Latvia First (LPV) with 6.24 percent and Progressives with 6.16 percent of votes. Provisionally, JV will earn 26 seats in the Saeima, followed by ZZS with 16 and the United List with 15 potential seats. NA, meanwhile, could have 13 seats, S! could have 11, and the Progressives and LPV potentially have ten and nine seats each, respectively.
Two months after the general election, the Parliament of Latvia on 14 Decembr 2022 approved the country's new three-party coalition government led by incumbent Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins. The coalition included Karins' center-right New Unity party, which won most of the votes in the election, the new centrist pro-business electoral alliance United List and the conservative National Alliance. The coalition partners agreed on the creation of a new Climate and Energy Ministry and three deputy ministerial posts.
Prime Minister Karins’s three-party government survived a no-confidence vote June 15, 2023 after a contested presidential election in May month sparked talk of a shakeup in the coalition. The governing parties split over whom to back for president, with Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics, the choice of Karins’s party, becoming head of state with the support of two opposition parties. Karins took his coalition partners by surprised when he then called for talks on potentially broadening the alliance with the parties that voted for Rinkevics.
Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins on 14 August 2023 said he would resign later in the week, along with the rest of his government. Karins was reportedly hoping an election will help him reconfigure the government after current coalition partners rejected his proposed Cabinet reshuffle. "This Thursday I will submit the resignation of myself and this Cabinet to the president," Karins told a press conference.
Karins was at the helm of a three-way alliance of his liberal-conservative New Unity party, the conservative National Alliance and the center-right electoral alliance United List. For some time, the 58-year-old had been pushing to widen the coalition to include the Alliance of Farmers and Greens and the left-leaning Progressives. However, his two coalition partners repeatedly expressed reservations about the move. Both parties last 09 August 2023 refused approval of Karins' choice for three ministerial posts, and also withheld their approval for several policy projects. Karins said that he faced a choice between working with the current coalition or seeking to build a new one. Karins said the two parties were blocking a planned work an welfare policy, as well as economic growth.
Karins said his party planned to select its candidate for the post of prime minister within days. Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics would have to give a mandate for any potential prime minister to try to form a government. Before any new coalition could take office, a vote in parliament would also be necessary.
The next Latvian election for parliament was not scheduled until 2026.
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