Youth mock election would give seven parties seats in Latvia’s parliament

Seven political parties would enter Latvia’s parliament if the results of the youth mock election were translated into seats, LSM reports. The Progressives would win 26 seats, followed by the United List with 23.

Latvia First would receive 12 seats, Sovereign Power and the New Latvians Association 11, and the Union of Greens and Farmers 10. The National Alliance and New Unity would each win nine seats.

The mock election was held for the second time this year, with young people from nearly all municipalities taking part. A total of 26,036 young people voted, representing 58.56% of the target group.

The Progressives received the most votes: 5,156, or about one-fifth of all participants. The United List won 4,858 votes, or 19.46%, while Latvia First received 2,638, or 10.75%. Each of the other four parties that cleared the 5% threshold received less than 10% of the vote.

The Progressives’ Andris Shuvajevs, a candidate for prime minister and member of parliament, received the most personal preference votes, with 1,072. He was followed by the United List’s Andris Kulbergs, the incumbent prime minister and a candidate for the post in the next parliamentary term, with 1,041, and Latvia First’s prime ministerial candidate Ainars Slesers, with 617.

Support varied by region. The Progressives led in Riga, Vidzeme and Kurzeme, while the United List had its strongest results in Zemgale and Latgale. Latvia First’s strongest regional result was in Latgale, where it received 14.53%. Sovereign Power and the New Latvians Association also performed best in Latgale, with 12.79%.