In Latvia, the current prime minister's party wins parliamentary elections
According to exit polls, the "United List" led by Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs significantly outperformed other political forces in the Latvian parliamentary elections. Preliminary data indicates the party may have received 35.6% of the votes, writes the BBC.
Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs. Photo: AP Photo/Marius Burgelman
If this result is confirmed, it will be unusually high for the Latvian political system. After the restoration of the country's independence, only the "Latvian Way" party in 1993 and "Unity" in 2010 previously received more than 30% of the votes.
Far behind the "United List" according to the exit poll were "Latvia First" with 11.3% and "Progressives" with 11.1%. Three other political forces also crossed the five-percent barrier: "Sovereign Power/Young Latvians" received 10.8%, the National Alliance — 8.7%, and "New Unity" — 6.7%.
The exit poll was conducted among 6,500 voters interviewed after casting their ballots. Approximately 30% of them did not disclose who they voted for, so the results remain preliminary.
The "United List" is a center-right political force, established in 2022 by merging three parties. It entered the Saeima and joined the government coalition, but moved into opposition in 2023.
In May 2026, the previous government coalition collapsed after a political crisis related to drone intrusions into Latvia. Following this, Andris Kulbergs, nominated by the "United List," became Prime Minister. Before entering politics, he was involved in the business environment and positioned himself as a problem-solver.
After the formation of the government led by Kulbergs, support for the "United List" began to grow significantly. Even on the eve of the elections, polls gave the party much lower figures — around 14-20%, so the exit poll result of 35.6% was a sharp increase compared to previous estimates.