EUobserver / Pro-Western government wins Latvia elections
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Pro-Western government wins Latvia elections
06.10.14 @ 09:28
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BY ANDREW RETTMAN
BRUSSELS - Latvia’s main Russia-friendly party scored worse than in previous elections and is likely to stay out of government.
The left-wing party, Saskanas Centrs, led by Riga mayor Nils Usakovs, got 23 percent of votes (Photo: Zigurds Zakis)
The left-wing party, Saskanas Centrs, led by Riga mayor Nils Usakovs, got 23 percent of votes on Saturday (4 October), maintaining its status as the biggest faction in parliament, but doing 5 points worse than in 2011.
By contrast, the right-wing and centrist parties in the ruling coalition - NA, Vienotiba, and ZZS - increased their share of seats by 14 points to almost 60 percent.
Turnout reached 70 percent in the Riga area, and was lowest in Latgale, a majority Russian-speaking region, on 47 percent.
Latvia is home to more than half a million ethnic Russians, but some 280,000 of them do not hold Latvian citizenship and did not get a chance to cast ballots
#Latvia #Elections2014 #Pro-Western_government #Russia #Citizenship
