2017 Latvian local elections facts for kids

Local elections in Latvia happened on June 3, 2017. These elections chose people to work in the councils of all 119 towns and cities across the country. These local councils help manage things like schools, roads, and public services in their areas.

How Elections Work

In Latvia, the number of people who work in a local council depends on how many people live in that area. If a town or city has more people, its council will have more members. Councils can have 9, 13, 15, 17, or 19 members. However, the capital city, Riga, is much bigger than any other city. So, its council has 60 members!

To vote in these local elections, you need to be at least 18 years old. This applies to citizens of Latvia and also to citizens from other countries in the European Union (EU) who live in Latvia. If you're an EU citizen, you just need to be registered in Latvia's Population Register at least 90 days before the election.

People vote in the area where they live or where they own property. Usually, you're automatically registered to vote at a specific polling station near your home. But if you want to, you can change your polling station up to 18 days before the election.

On election day, polling stations are open from 7 AM to 10 PM. You can also vote early! Polling stations open for a few hours during the three days before the main election day.

The Election Campaign

Many people wanted to become council members! Across Latvia, 599 different lists of candidates were registered. In total, 8,945 people hoped to become deputies.

Most of these candidate lists (465 of them) were put forward by single political parties. Some lists (31) were from groups of parties working together, called coalitions. And 103 lists were from groups of voters who came together.

Most of the candidates (about 77%) were ethnic Latvians. About 4% were ethnic Russians, and a small number were ethnic Poles or other groups. About 17% of candidates chose not to share their ethnic background.

Many people voted early. About 167,000 people, which is 11.6% of all voters, cast their votes between May 31 and June 2. Overall, about 50.41% of all eligible voters took part in the local elections. That's 727,839 people!

Election Results

The map below shows the results of the local elections across Latvia. Each color on the map tells you which political party won the most votes in that area.

Results of the local elections in Latvia:
     Union of Greens and Farmers      Latvian Farmers' Union      Latvian Green Party      Latvian Association of Regions      National Alliance      Unity      Harmony      Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party      New conservative party      Regional parties

Let's look at the results from Latvia's two biggest cities: Riga and Daugavpils.

Riga's Election

Before these elections, Riga was led by a group of parties called "Harmony" and "Proud to serve Riga." Nils Ušakovs, from the "Harmony" party, was the mayor and head of the city council. Other parties in Riga wanted to work together to choose a new mayor.

After the elections, the "Harmony" and "Proud to serve Riga" group still won the most seats. They got 32 out of 60 seats in the council, which is a majority. Even though they lost a few seats, Nils Ušakovs was re-elected as the head of the city council on June 22, 2017.

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Elections in the council of Riga

Party	Votes	%	Deputies	Change
Harmony — Proud to serve Riga	127099	50,82	32	7
LAR — Latvian Development	34176	13,66	9	9
New Conservative Party	33553	13,42	9	9
National Alliance	23135	9,25	6	6
Unity	15653	6,26	4	5
Others	15514	6,21	0
Overall (turnout 58,72 %)	249130	99,61	60	—
Source: Central Election Commission of Latvia

Daugavpils' Election

In Daugavpils, the mayor before the elections was Jānis Lāčplēsis from the Latgalian party. He had been chosen by everyone on the council in 2013.

After the 2017 elections, the Latgalian party won more seats in the council. However, they didn't get enough seats to have a majority on their own. Instead, two other parties, "Harmony" and "Our party," decided to work together. They formed a coalition.

On June 26, 2017, Andrejs Elksniņš from the "Harmony" party became the new mayor and head of the city council. Rihards Eigims, the leader of "Our party," became the vice-mayor.

This meant that the "Harmony" party became a leading force in the local councils of both Riga and Daugavpils, Latvia's two largest cities.

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Elections in the council of Daugavpils

Party	Votes	%	Deputies	Change
Latgalian party	7899	28,57	6	2
Harmony	7786	28,16	5	1
Our party	5347	19,34	4	4
Other	6316	22,85	0	7
Overall (turnout 47,33 %)	27348	98,91	15	—
Source: Central Election Commission of Latvia