| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Saeima / Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
7 October 2006 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the seats in Parliament on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. |
The 2006 elections were the first since the country's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in April 2004 and the European Union (EU) in May 2004.
Since gaining independence from the former Soviet Union in August 1991, Latvia had had 12 coalition governments, including three since the last elections in October 2002. Soon after those elections, a conservative government was formed, led by the New Era (JL) party leader, Mr. Einars Repse. It included four parties - the JL (26 seats), the Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS, 12 seats), the Latvia First Party (LPP, 10 seats), and the Conservative Union for Fatherland and Freedom (TB/LNNK, seven seats) - controlling a total of 55 seats in the 100-member parliament. However, the coalition collapsed when the JL withdrew in protest at a vote-buying scandal in municipal elections involving the LPP.
A new centre-right coalition comprising the ZZS, the LPP and the People's Party (TP, which won 20 seats in 2002) was formed in March 2004. However, the new Prime Minister, Mr. Indulis Emsis (ZZS), resigned when parliament rejected his 2005 budget proposals. In December 2004, Mr. Aigars Kalvitis became Prime Minister, leading the same three-party coalition. For Civil Rights (PCTVL), a leftist party representing the Russian minority that had won 25 seats in 2002, did not participate in any of the three governments.
In all, 19 political parties and 1,024 candidates contested the 2006 elections. The LPP formed an electoral coalition with the Latvian Way (LC) party and pledged to work for the country's stability by promoting the free market economy. It also promised to work closely with the EU and to adopt the euro by 2008. Its main rivals were the JL and two parties representing the Russian minority: the PCTVL and the Concord Centre (SC, also known as Harmony Centre), a leftist party formed in 2005 that pledged to promote linguistic diversity in education.
In all, 60.08 per cent of eligible voters turned out for the polls, down from the 71 per cent recorded in 2002.
The final results gave a narrow majority of 51 seats to the parties in the outgoing governmental coalition, the first time that a government was returned to office since independence in 1991. The opposition JL lost eight seats, while the PCTVL lost 19 and the newly created SC won 17.
The new parliament held its first session on 6 November 2006 and elected former Prime Minister Indulis Emsis as its new Speaker.
On 7 November, the parliament re-elected Mr. Aigars Kalvitis as Prime Minister. He subsequently formed a new government comprising the TP, the ZZS, the LPP-LC, and the TB/LNNK, which had won 8 seats, thus controlling 59 seats in the 100-member parliament.
Note on PARLINE:
"For Civil Rights" is officially known as "For Human Rights in United Latvia". |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 7 October 2006 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
1'490'636
908'979 (60.98%)
901'665 |
|
Notes
|
The number of "voters" refers to registered electors who received ballot papers at the polling station. 907,460 of them actually cast their ballots. |
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| People's Party (TP) |
65 |
177'481 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS) |
70 |
151'595 |
|
|
|
|
|
| New Era (JL) |
86 |
148'602 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Concord Centre (SC) |
84 |
130'887 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Electoral union of Latvia first party (LPP) and party Latvian way (LC) |
64 |
77'869 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Conservative Union for Fatherland and Freedom (TB/LNNK) |
89 |
62'989 |
|
|
|
|
|
| For Civil Rights (PCTVL) |
71 |
54'684 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
|
|
|
|
| People's Party (TP) |
23
|
|
|
|
|
| Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS) |
18
|
|
|
|
|
| New Era (JL) |
18
|
|
|
|
|
| Concord Centre (SC) |
17
|
|
|
|
|
| Electoral union of Latvia first party (LPP) and party Latvian way (LC) |
10
|
|
|
|
|
| Conservative Union for Fatherland and Freedom (TB/LNNK) |
8
|
|
|
|
|
| For Civil Rights (PCTVL) |
6
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
81
19
19.00%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
21 to 30 years
31 to 40 years
41 to 50 years
51 to 60 years
61 to 70 years
Over 70 years
|
4
17
38
25
15
1
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
| Civil/public servants/administrators (including social/development workers) |
29 |
| Business/trade/industry employees, including executives |
12 |
| Educators |
11 |
| Legal professions |
11 |
| Economists |
6 |
| Medical professions (doctors, dentists, nurses) |
6 |
| Liberal professions (including artists, authors) and sports professionals |
6 |
| Media-related professions (journalists/publishers) |
6 |
| Scientists |
5 |
| Farmers/agricultural workers (including wine growers) |
4 |
| Engineers/PC experts |
1 |
| Bankers (including invest bankers)/accountants |
1 |
| Architects |
1 |
| Clerical occupations |
1 |
|
| Comments |
Sources:
- http://web.cvk.lv/
- Parliament (30.10.2006, 01.01.2008, 01.01.2010) |
|
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
