Fact-checkers expose election myths and misleading claims in Latvia

False claims about stolen votes were less common than in some previous elections, but politicians also misled the public about voter turnout and party size, LSM reports, citing the Re:Baltica fact-checking project Re:Check.

Disinformation spreader Vladimir Voloshin claimed that “all elections in Latvia are a cruel lie” and warned before the October 3 vote that ballots submitted for storage were not safe. He said Central Election Commission staff and security services could see how people voted, potentially causing trouble for those who backed certain political forces.

That claim was false: election procedures ensure that nobody can find out how an individual voted. The article says Voloshin was not simply a blogger. Before last year’s municipal elections, he wore a jacket bearing the name of politician Jūlija Stepaņenko’s political force and urged people to vote for it. Stepaņenko also used social media to counter disinformation about the vote.

Re:Check found that Jurēvics misled the public by suggesting Latvia’s voter turnout was not poor by European standards. MP Dārznieks also misled people by claiming that Suverēnā vara/Apvienība Jaunlatvieši was Latvia’s largest party by membership.