RIGA, Oct 1 (Reuters) – Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins’ centre-right New Unity party was set to win Saturday’s national election, an exit poll showed, after a campaign dominated by security concerns after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
If confirmed, the result should mean Latvia remains a leading voice alongside its Baltic neighbors Lithuania and Estonia in pushing the European Union for a decisive stance against Russia.
But it could widen a rift between the country’s Latvian majority and its Russian-speaking minority over their place in society, amid widespread national anger over Moscow’s actions in Ukraine.
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The first Latvian head of government to serve a full four-year term, Karins, a 57-year-old American and Latvian citizen, has benefited from his policies from Moscow, which included restricting the entry of Russian citizens who were traveling from Russia and Belarus. .
“We have known Russia’s politics for years, we had been trying to warn our neighbors for years before the war started,” Karins told reporters after the exit polls were released.
Latvian Prime Minister Arturs Krisjanis Karins reacts at the ‘New Unity’ party headquarters as he addresses party colleagues during national elections in Riga, Latvia October 1, 2022. REUTERS/Janis Laizans
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“We will continue to invest in our own defense … to ensure that Latvia and the Baltic region remain as secure in the future as they are today.”
A LETA/LSM exit poll showed New Unity at 22.5%, twice as many votes as its nearest competitor, the smaller United List.
The Union of Greens and Farmers, a coalition of conservative groups closely united around Aivars Lembergs, the long-term mayor of Ventspils who was placed on a US sanctions list for alleged corruption in 2019, ranked third place with 10.9%.
Exit polls showed a drop in support for populist parties among Latvia’s Russian-speaking minority, which makes up about a quarter of the country’s 1.9 million people.
The left-wing Harmony party saw its support drop to single digits, with observers saying this was driven in part by ethnic Latvian voters drifting away. Some Russian speakers were also disappointed by the party’s leadership criticizing the Kremlin over Ukraine.
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Report by Andrius Sytas and Janis Laizans; Editing by Justyna Pawlak and David Holmes
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