In Liepāja, election day feels like a holiday — even a "Santa Claus" shows up to vote

Active voter turnout was observed on Saturday at the Liepāja Latvian Society House, one of the city's polling stations, during the Saeima parliamentary elections. The head of the Liepāja election commission, Benita Šēniņa, described the scene to the LETA news agency.

According to Šēniņa, residents of Liepāja have been coming out to vote enthusiastically, treating the day not as a routine civic duty but as something closer to a festive occasion. The lively mood at the polling station, she said, reflects genuine public engagement with the vote.

A costumed voter

One moment that stood out during the day was the appearance of a voter dressed in a Santa Claus costume at the polling station. The unusual outfit drew attention from others present and added to the celebratory atmosphere inside the voting venue.

Šēniņa noted that this kind of cheerful mood among voters — people arriving in good spirits rather than reluctantly fulfilling an obligation — is what makes election day in Liepāja stand out as a notable community event. Her comments were shared as a general reflection on how the Saeima election day was unfolding at the Liepāja site she oversees.