Nearly 800,000 Latvians voted in the parliamentary election, with a turnout of 51.7 percent. The centrist, pro-Ukraine United List party, led by Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs, secured a significant victory in the election. According to data from the Central Election Commission, with ballots counted from 82 percent of precincts, United List received 35.8 percent of the votes, while the populist Latvia First party garnered 13.3 percent.
Voting commenced at 05:00 GMT on Saturday, and exit polls at 17:00 GMT indicated that Kulbergs's United List was leading. This election marked the first electoral challenge for Kulbergs since he assumed office in May 2026, following the resignation of his predecessor amid concerns over drone incursions from Ukraine.
Despite expectations that Kulbergs would retain his position, the decline of two allies in his coalition suggests he may face complex negotiations regarding the formation of a future government. However, the election results are not anticipated to alter Latvia's pro-European and pro-Ukrainian stance.
Latvian politics are characterized by fragmentation, with parties typically not exceeding a 20 percent vote share, necessitating coalitions. Fourteen electoral lists participated in the election, but pre-vote polls indicated that only seven were likely to secure seats in parliament, with others expected to fall short of the 5 percent minimum vote threshold.
Key issues in the campaign included rising living costs, low wages, healthcare strains, and ongoing population decline. Latvia First, a pro-Ukraine populist nationalist party, was positioned as a potential coalition partner for Kulbergs. The Sovereign Power party, which advocates for Ukraine's victory but suggests reallocating support funds to domestic issues, is projected to be the third-largest party with 11 percent of the vote, although most parties have ruled out coalition possibilities with them.
Latvia, the least affluent of the Baltic states, has significantly increased its defense budget since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, now allocating nearly 5 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) to defense.