Latvian legislators are set to kick off discussions on forming a new government post a recent parliamentary election where Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs’s pro-Ukraine four-party coalition secured 35% of the vote. In May, a political turmoil erupted due to the management of stray drones suspected to be from Ukraine, leading to the collapse of the existing coalition. Subsequently, the parliament approved Kulbergs’s coalition, representing the centrist United List party, which was previously in opposition.
Latvia, along with neighboring countries Lithuania and Estonia, firmly stands by Ukraine in its resistance against Moscow’s invasion, given its proximity to both Russia and the Moscow-aligned Belarus.
The election turnout exceeded 51%, with over 1.56 million eligible voters in the nation of more than 1.8 million participating in selecting the 100 members of the single-chamber Saeima for a four-year tenure. The United List party is projected to secure 42 parliamentary seats, necessitating a multi-party coalition to navigate the fragmented political scenario. Parties are required to garner a minimum of five percent of the vote to secure seats in the parliament.
The election took place amidst rising apprehensions about potential Russian aggression along NATO’s eastern frontier.