Latvian voters have handed Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs the strongest mandate any party has won since the country regained independence in 1991. His centre-right United List took 35.3% of the vote and 41 of the 100 seats in the Saeima, the national parliament, in the election held on Saturday, October 3. The previous record was 36 seats, won by Latvian Way in 1993.
Kulbergs, who only became prime minister in May, said the size of the win showed that “people truly want change”. President Edgars Rinkēvičs began talks with all six parties that won seats on Monday, October 5, the first step towards forming a new government.
Final results
- United List: 35.3%, 41 seats (up from 15 in 2022)
- Latvia First: 13.1%, 17 seats
- Sovereign Power / Young Latvians: 11.7%, 15 seats
- National Alliance: 8.9%, 10 seats
- Progressives: 7.9%, 10 seats
- New Unity: 6.3%, 7 seats (down 19)
Turnout was 51.8%. The Union of Greens and Farmers, which held 16 seats, won 4.4% and fell below the 5% threshold for the first time. Harmony, once the largest party in parliament, won less than 1%.
Who is Andris Kulbergs?
A former manager in the telecommunications and car industries, Kulbergs was asked to form a government after Evika Siliņa of New Unity resigned as prime minister on May 14. Parliament confirmed him on May 28 with 66 votes. Siliņa’s party has now suffered one of the heaviest defeats of the night.
The coalition maths
Kulbergs has said he will open talks first with his current partners, New Unity and the National Alliance. Together the three parties would have about 58 seats, a comfortable majority. United List and the National Alliance alone would have 51, a majority of one. Kulbergs has ruled out governing with Latvia First, the populist party led by businessman Ainārs Šlesers, and most major parties have refused to work with Sovereign Power, which critics describe as pro-Russian.
Russia, Ukraine and security
Security dominated the campaign in a country that borders both Russia and Belarus. Latvia has faced what officials describe as hybrid pressure: migrants pushed towards its border from Belarus, cyberattacks and repeated drone incursions into its airspace.
- Kulbergs wants to keep defence spending at 5% of GDP, continue military aid to Ukraine and has pressed the EU to stop trade with Moscow.
- Latvia First campaigned against further restrictions on trade with Russia.
- Sovereign Power opposed more military aid to Ukraine and higher defence spending, drawing much of its support from Latvia’s Russian-speaking minority, about a third of voters.
What happens next
Under Latvia’s constitution, the president nominates a prime minister, who must then win a confidence vote in the new Saeima for their government. With his party holding 41 seats, Kulbergs is the clear favourite to remain prime minister. The result also keeps Latvia, a NATO and EU member, firmly on its pro-Ukraine course at a time when security worries are rising across the Baltic region.
Sources
- Brussels Signal — Latvian right wins record mandate as Kulbergs takes 41 seats
- Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung — Parliamentary elections in Latvia 2026
- Qatar Tribune — Latvian president holds talks with six parties on formation of new government
- Kuwait Times (AFP) — Latvian PM’s party wins record seats in election