Centrists win Latvia vote, Russian-speaking parties on back foot
The Hindu
Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins's pro-Western centrist party has won elections in Latvia
Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins's pro-Western centrist party has won elections in Latvia while parties supported by the Baltic state's large Russian-speaking minority have suffered major setbacks, official results showed on Sunday.
With almost all ballots from Saturday's vote counted, Karins's New Unity party was in first place with 18.94 percent while the Harmony party, traditionally backed by Russian speakers, may not have won enough votes to enter parliament.
Harmony came first in the last election in 2018.
The results showed other centrist parties coming second and third and just one party associated with Russian-speakers, Stability!, scraping past the threshold to enter parliament with 6.75 percent.
The Russian-speaking minority in Latvia makes up around 30 percent of the population.
Latvians voted in the shadow of neighbouring Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with many concerned about Russian aggression and expansionism.
National security and support for Ukraine were key issues for many voters, as well as the need for stability in this country of 1.8 million people on the eastern edge of the European Union and NATO.
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