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2011 Latvian parliamentary election

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2011 Latvian parliamentary election
Latvia
← 2010 17 September 2011 2014 ⊟
Party Leader Vote % Seats /–
Harmony Centre Jānis Urbanovičs 28.62 31 2
Reform Valdis Zatlers 21.01 22 New
Unity Valdis Dombrovskis 19.00 20 −13
NA Raivis Dzintars 14.01 14 6
ZZS Raimonds Vējonis 12.33 13 −9
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Results by electoral district
Prime Minister before Prime Minister after
Valdis Dombrovskis
Unity		 Valdis Dombrovskis
Unity

Early parliamentary elections were held in Latvia on 17 September 2011,[1] following the country's first parliamentary dissolution referendum held on 23 July 2011. The previous parliamentary election was only held in October 2010.

The elections resulted in Harmony Centre winning the most seats, up two to 31. This was the first time a pro-Russian party had won the most seats in a Latvian election. Unity, previously the largest party, fell to third, with 20 seats, behind the newly formed Zatlers' Reform Party, led by ex-President Valdis Zatlers, who had triggered the dissolution referendum in May. The right-wing National Alliance gained six seats to 14. Both the Union of Greens and Farmers and Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way lost heavily, with the latter falling out of the Saeima altogether.

Zatlers and incumbent Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis soon agreed to form a coalition. Needing nine further seats to give them a majority allowed three possible coalitions – with Harmony Centre, the National Alliance, or the Union of Greens and Farmers. The Greens and Farmers were quickly ruled out by Zatlers, who judged it to be an "oligarch's party". After initial talks with the National Alliance, the two briefly discussed a grand coalition with Harmony Centre. However, Zatlers and Unity returned to the National Alliance, and the three signed a coalition agreement on 11 October, with Dombrovskis as Prime Minister. The new government was confirmed by the Saeima on 25 October. A few days before the government formation, six MPs split from Zatlers' Reform Party; they still supported the new government, however.[2]

Background

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Prior to the elections, a number of changes in Latvia's party system occurred:

Results

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The Harmony Centre party, led by Nils Ušakovs, finished with about 29% of the vote, followed by Zatlers' Reform Party with 21% and the Unity party with 18%.[7] The National Alliance and the Union of Greens and Farmers were the only other parties to enter Parliament, with fourteen and twelve percent of the vote, respectively.[7] Harmony Centre's victory was the first for a pro-Russian party since Latvia's independence; the party has ties to United Russia.[8]

PartyVotes%Seats /–
Harmony Centre259,93028.6231 2
Zatlers' Reform Party190,85621.0122New
Unity172,56319.0020−13
National Alliance127,20814.0114 6
Union of Greens and Farmers111,95712.3313–9
Latvia's First Party/Latvian Way22,1312.440–8
For Human Rights in United Latvia7,1090.7800
Last Party4,4710.4900
For a Presidential Republic2,8810.3200
People's Control2,5730.2800
Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party2,5310.2800
Freedom. Free from Fear, Hate and Anger2,0110.220New
Christian Democratic Union1,9930.2200
Total908,214100.001000
Valid votes908,21499.10
Invalid/blank votes8,2550.90
Total votes916,469100.00
Registered voters/turnout1,542,70059.41
Source: CVK, CVK, CVK

Government formation

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Despite winning the most seats, Harmony Centre, was unable to come to an agreement to form a coalition that would hold a majority in parliament immediately after the election.[7] Usakovs entered talks with Zatlers Reform Party and Unity following the election with the aim of forming a coalition,[8] though political analysts said that a potential stumbling block in the talks could be the opposition of other parties to Harmony Centre's connection to Latvia's Russian-speaking population.[7] The most likely potential coalition was predicted to be Zatlers' Reform Party, Unity and National Alliance.[9] Valdis Dombrovskis was believed to remain Prime Minister, despite his party finishing behind the Reform Party.

Zatlers stated on 1 October 2011 that he preferred a coalition with Dombrovskis as PM and including Harmony Centre.[10] However, on 10 October 2011, reports indicated a coalition with the National Alliance was all but certain.[11] Eventually a Unity-Reform Party-National Alliance coalition was formed.

References

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  1. ^ "Latvians sack parliament, head to early elections". EurActiv. 25 July 2011. Archived from the original on 26 August 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  2. ^ Eglitis, Aaron (25 October 2011). "Latvian Parliament Confirms New Government Led By Dombrovskis". Businessweek. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  3. ^ DELFI (22 January 2011). "Daugavpils partija iekļaujas 'Saskaņā'; SC veidos divi spēki – DELFI". Delfi.lv. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  4. ^ Nolemj likvidēt Tautas partiju (in Latvian)
  5. ^ a b "Latvian political parties undergo major upheaval", Baltic Times, 12 July 2011, retrieved 18 July 2011
  6. ^ Apollo – Ziņas: Izveidota partija «Vienotība» Archived 8 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Apollo.lv. Retrieved on 19 September 2011.
  7. ^ a b c d "Pro-Russia party wins most votes in Latvia election". BBC News Online. 18 September 2011. Archived from the original on 20 September 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
  8. ^ a b "Pro-Russia party may take power in Latvia if it can form coalition". The Guardian. 19 September 2011. Archived from the original on 22 September 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
  9. ^ Maktlösa vinnare i Lettland Archived 19 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Dagens Nyheter. 18 September 2011.
  10. ^ Andris Straumanis. "Zatlers wants Dombrovskis as PM in coalition with Unity, Harmony Centre". Latviansonline.com. Archived from the original on 9 October 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  11. ^ derStandard.at. "Rechtsregierung mit Ultranationalisten so gut wie sicher – Lettland – derStandard.at › International" (in German). Derstandard.at. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
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