Latvia: Russian-speaking parties dealt a severe blow as centrists win election

Pro-Russian parties in Latvia suffered a setback as Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins's pro-Western centrist party won the elections. The voting took place on Saturday and with almost all ballots counted, Karins's New Unity party was in first place. The party bagged 18.94 per cent votes. The Harmony Party, which is traditionally backed by Russian speakers, may not have won enough votes to enter the parliament.

Harmony came first in the last election in 2018.

The results showed other centrist parties coming second and third and just one party associated with Russian-speakers, Stability!, scraping past the threshold to enter parliament with 6.75 per cent votes.

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Latvia has a large Russianspeaking citizenry which makes up 30 per cent of the population.

The voting took place amid ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.

National security and support for Ukraine were key issues for many voters, as well as the need for stability in this country of 1.8 million people on the eastern edge of the European Union and NATO.

"Neither I nor my government nor my country reacts on fear," Karins told AFP on Saturday after polls closed.

"We will continue to invest in our own defence as a NATO member state," he added.

Karins said he expected the consultations on forming a new government to begin on Monday.

(With inputs from agencies)