At least 110,000 voters deposit ballots ahead of Saeima election

At least 110,000 voters deposited ballots for safekeeping in the first four days of early voting ahead of Latvia’s 15th Saeima election, LSM reported. Including 4,907 applications to vote by post, turnout has reached more than 115,700 people, or 7.43% of eligible voters.

Ballots deposited for safekeeping account for 7.11% of eligible voters. In Riga, at least 42,900 people, or 7.17% of eligible voters, have voted this way. The figures are at least 33,200 in Vidzeme, about 13,000 in Zemgale, around 11,500 in Kurzeme and at least 10,000 in Latgale.

Voters who cannot attend on election day, Saturday, October 3, can deposit their ballot at any polling station on Friday, October 2, from noon to 3 p.m. They can change their choice until election day. Whether voting by post or depositing a ballot for safekeeping, only the most recently cast vote will count, so the turnout figures may change.

Latvia’s CERT cybersecurity incident response institution said no election-related threats or cybersecurity incidents had been detected in the country’s cyberspace on Thursday. The situation remained stable, with no external activity observed that could affect the election process, although the country’s overall cyber threat level remained high.