| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Saeima / Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
17 September 2011 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the seats in Parliament following the early dissolution of this body in July 2011. General elections had previously been held in October 2010. |
Following a decision by referendum to dissolve parliament, parliamentary elections were held on 17 September 2011, just 11 months after the previous ones.
In the previous elections held in October 2010, the centre-right Unity coalition (VIENOTIBA), led by Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis, took 33 seats, four more than the left-wing Centre for Harmony (SC), led by the Mayor of the capital Riga, Mr. Nils Usakovs. Mr. Dombrovskis' Unity coalition subsequently formed a new coalition government with the Union of Farmers and Greens (ZZS), which took 22 seats.
Prime Minister Dombrovskis' new government continued to take severe austerity measures to stabilize the country's finances. The country is due to reimburse a 7.5-billion euro loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by 2014 and another 1.3 billion euros from the European Union (EU), both granted in December 2008 following the global economic crisis. The budget deficit, which reached almost 10 per cent in 2009, came down to 4.2 per cent in 2011 and is expected to fall to 2.5 per cent in 2012. The country intends to adopt the euro in 2014.
In May 2011, parliament refused to grant prosecutors permission to investigate alleged corruption scandals involving Mr. Ainars Slesers, a wealthy businessman and leader of For a Better Latvia (LPP, an opposition party which took eight seats in the 2010 elections). On 28 May, President Valdis Zatlers called a referendum proposing that parliament be dissolved, accusing the institution of not taking sufficient action to fight corruption. No President had ever called such a referendum before.
On 2 June, in the indirect presidential election held in parliament, Mr. Andris Berzins (ZZS) defeated President Zatlers, who in theory had the backing of the Unity coalition, thus revealing internal divisions within the coalition government.
On 9 July, two days after his presidential term officially ended, the former President launched the Zatlers' Reform Party. Speaker Solvita Aboltina (Unity) described the move as a "mistake", arguing that the new party would split the electorate, thus resulting in political instability. Later the same month, TB/LNNK and the Everything for Latvia party (VL) - which had been in an electoral alliance in the 2010 elections - officially merged as the National Alliance under the co-leadership of Mr. Roberts Zile and Mr. Raivis Dzintars.
On 3 August, three parties in the Prime Minister's Unity coalition - New Era (JL), the Civic Union (PS) and the Society for Other Politics (SCP) - officially merged as the Unity party. Two days later, Mr. Slesers modified his party's name to "Slesers' Reform Party-Latvia's Way".
On 23 July, 44.71 per cent of the 1.5 million registered voters turned out for the referendum, 94.30 per cent of whom voted in favour of dissolving parliament, thus paving the way for early elections to be held on 17 September.
In all, 1,092 candidates from 13 parties were vying for seats in parliament. Against a backdrop of economic crisis, most parties focused on the economy.
Prime Minister Dombrovskis (Unity) pledged to stabilize the financial situation and reduce the unemployment rate (which had reached 12.6% cent in July 2011) to 7 per cent. The Prime Minister said that the adoption of the euro remained the best option for Latvia despite the recent euro zone crisis. He called on voters' support for the Unity party so that he could complete the economic stabilization programme, which entailed meeting the Maastricht Treaty criteria on the budget and inflation in 2012.
The Zatlers' Reform Party campaigned against the influence of the business lobby or the "oligarchs" as it called them. The party promised to implement major reforms to remove the "barriers preventing balanced and sustainable growth" and reduce income taxes while raising real estate tax. It pledged to adopt the euro by 2014.
The Slesers' Reform Party-Latvia's Way, ran under the slogan "Don't save money, earn money!", stating that it would support an increase in the State budget. It criticized the Zatlers' Reform Party, arguing that seasoned entrepreneurs should not be prevented from participating in politics.
The Centre for Harmony (SC) was leading in the opinion polls. It draws support from the Russian-speaking community which accounts for about one third of the country's 2.3 million inhabitants. The SC promised to renegotiate the terms of the 2008 IMF-EU bailout. It also said that it would raise the budget deficit to between 5 and 6 per cent instead of lowering it to the 3 per cent required by the EU's Stability and Growth Pact.
The Unity party criticized the SC, arguing that such a move would threaten the financial stability of the country and impede economic recovery. The National Alliance, which had supported Mr. Zatlers in the June 2011 presidential elections, pledged to protect the interests of Latvians and prevent the "partners of the Kremlin" from forming a coalition governmental.
In all, 59.49 per cent of the 1.5 million registered voters turned out at the polls.
The SC came in first with 31 seats, followed by the Zatlers' Reform Party with 22 seats, which took two more than the Prime Minister's Unity party. The National Alliance and the ZZS took 14 and 13 seats respectively. Mr. Slesers' party failed to win parliamentary representation.
Unity, Zatlers' Reform Party and the National Alliance subsequently reached an agreement to form a coalition government, whereby Mr. Dombrovskis would become Prime Minister and Mr. Zalters Speaker of parliament.
On 17 October, the newly elected parliament held its first session. Mr. Zatlers failed to win the required majority after two rounds of voting. The following day, parliament re-elected Ms. Solvita Aboltina (Unity) as its Speaker.
On 19 October, President Berzins invited Mr. Dombrovskis to form a new government. On 25 October, Mr. Dombrovskis' three-party coalition government won a vote of confidence in parliament. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 17 September 2011 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
1'542'700
917'680 (59.49%)
1'211
916'469 |
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| Centre for Harmony (SC) |
|
259'930 |
|
|
28.36 |
|
|
| Zatlers' Reform Party |
|
190'853 |
|
|
20.82 |
|
|
| Unity (VIENOTIBA) |
|
172'567 |
|
|
18.33 |
|
|
| National Alliance (NA) |
|
127'208 |
|
|
13.88 |
|
|
| Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS) |
|
111'955 |
|
|
12.22 |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Gain/Loss |
|
|
|
| Centre for Harmony (SC) |
31
|
2 |
|
|
|
| Zatlers' Reform Party |
22
|
|
|
|
|
| Unity (VIENOTIBA) |
20
|
-13 |
|
|
|
| National Alliance (NA) |
14
|
6 |
|
|
|
| Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS) |
13
|
-9 |
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
79
21
21.00%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
Parliament (05.10.2011, 13.01.2012, 01.01.2014)
http://www.velesanas2011.cvk.lv/ |
|
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
