Today (October 1st) citizens of Latvia go to polls to vote in parliamentary elections!
Latvian parliament (**Saeima**, word related to Sejm/Seimas of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which is also an origin of modern parliament’s names in these two countries) is unicameral and consists of 100 deputies (51 needed for majority), who are elected for a **four**-year term, in five multi-member constituencies (based on historical regions), by open list proportional representation, and seats allocated using the [Sainte-Laguë method](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webster/Sainte-Lagu%C3%AB_method). Electoral threshold is **5%** (national).
What’s unique, that voters may cast specific votes for candidates on the list, which involves drawing a plus sign (positive vote) next to the candidate’s name, or by crossing it out (negative vote). Number of votes for each candidate (which determines their place) is the number of votes cast for the list (in given constituency), plus their number of positive votes, minus their number of negative votes.
Turnout in last (2018) elections was 54.6%.
Relevant parties and alliances taking part in the elections are:
Name|Leader|Position|Affiliation|2018 result|Recent polling|**Exit poll**|Seats (2018)
:–|:–|:–|:–|–:|–:|–:|:–
[New Unity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Unity) (JV)|[Krišjānis Kariņš](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krišjānis Kariņš)|centre-right (liberal conservative)|EPP|6.7%|21-23%|TBA|(8)
[National Alliance]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Alliance_(Latvia\)) (NA)|[Raivis Dzintars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raivis_Dzintars)|right-wing (national conservative, anti-Russia)|ECR|11.1%|9-11%|TBA|(13)
[Union of Greens & Farmers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_of_Greens_and_Farmers) (ZZS)|[Aivars Lembergs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aivars_Lembergs)|centre-right (agrarian)|Global Greens|10%|7-12%|TBA|(7)
[United List](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_List_(Latvia\)) (AS)|[Uldis Pīlēns](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uldis_Pīlēns)|centre-right (green/social conservative)|Global Greens/ECR|4.2%|8-9%|TBA|(4)
[Progressives](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Progressives_(Latvia\)) (P)|[Antoņina Ņenaševa](https://lv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anto%C5%86ina_%C5%85ena%C5%A1eva), Atis Švinka|centre-left (social democracy, green)|European Greens|2.6%|7-9%|TBA|(-)
[Harmony](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Democratic_Party_%22Harmony%22) (**S**askaņa)|[Jānis Urbanovičs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jānis_Urbanovičs)|centre-left (social, Russian minority)|PES|19.9%|7-9%|TBA|(23)
[Development/For!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Development/For!) (AP!)|[Ivars Ijabs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivars_Ijabs)|centre (liberal)|Renew Europe|12.1%|5-7%|TBA|(13)
[For Stability!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_Stability!) (S!)|Aleksejs Rosļikovs|populist (pro-Russia)|-|-|4-6%|TBA|TBA
[Latvian Russian Union](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latvian_Russian_Union) (LKS)|[Tatjana Ždanoka](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatjana_Ždanoka), [Miroslavs Mitrofanovs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miroslav_Mitrofanov)|centre (pro-Russia)|EFA|3.2%|4-5%|TBA|(-)
[Latvia First](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latvia_First) (LPV)|[Ainārs Šlesers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ainārs_Šlesers)|right-wing to far-right (populist, Covidiot)|-|-|4-5%|TBA|TBA
[Conservatives](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Conservatives_(Latvia\)) (K)|[Jānis Bordāns](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jānis Bordāns)|centre-right (liberal conservative)|-|13.7%|4-5%|TBA|(16)
[For Each & Every One](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_Each_and_Every_One) (KuK)|[Aldis Gobzems](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldis_Gobzems)|right-wing (social conservative, populist)|-|-|3-4%|TBA|TBA
[Sovereign Power](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_Power_(Latvia\)) (SV)|[Jūlija Stepaņenko](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jūlija_Stepaņenko)|right-wing (populist, Russian minority)|-|-|1-2%|TBA|TBA
[Republic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_(Latvia\)) (R)|[Sandis Ģirģens](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandis_Ģirģens)|centre|-|-|1-2%|TBA|TBA
Current government is made of K, AP!, NA and JV; opposition is based on Harmony and ZZS.
**Further reading**
[Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Latvian_parliamentary_election)
[Saeima Elections: How it all happens](https://eng.lsm.lv/article/politics/saeima/saeima-elections-2022-how-it-all-happens.a467052/) & [It’s election day](https://eng.lsm.lv/article/politics/election/it-is-election-day-in-latvia.a476066/) (LSM)
[Russia’s Ukraine invasion is backdrop to election in Latvia](https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/latvia-goes-polls-amid-growing-rift-between-latvian-majority-russian-minority-2022-10-01/) (Reuters)
We shall leave detailed commentary (and any interesting trivia!) on elections and campaign, to our Latvian users, or anyone else with worthy knowledge.
**PSA**: Threads on 🇧🇬 Bulgarian (snap) and 🇧🇦 Bosnian elections will be up tomorrow.