Early voting activity surges ahead of 15th Saeima election
A record nearly 45,000 voters cast ballots for safekeeping on September 30, pushing the total above 83,000 ahead of the October 3 parliamentary election. Turnout varies sharply by region, with Riga leading and Latgale lagging.
Early voting for Latvia's 15th Saeima election has seen a sharp rise in activity, with September 30 marking the busiest day so far: 44,799 people, or 2.88% of all eligible voters, cast their ballots for safekeeping. By the end of that day, a total of 83,255 ballots had been deposited for safekeeping nationwide, equal to 5.35% of all eligible voters, with another 4,907 votes cast by mail or at voters' location.
Regional breakdown
Turnout is highest in the Riga electoral district, where 38,815 voters, or 6.48%, have cast ballots. Vidzeme follows with 24,823 votes (6.19%), then Kurzeme with 8,292 (4.76%) and Zemgale with 9,355 (4.69%). Latgale shows the lowest activity, with just 6,877 votes, or 3.74%.
Turnout in Ogre municipality
On the first day of voting, September 28, 694 voters cast ballots at polling stations across Ogre municipality. The Ikšķile People's House saw the highest turnout with 100 voters, followed by the Lielvārde Culture House with 88, the Ogre municipality Culture Center with 76, the Ogre Basketball School with 55, and the Ogre municipality Sports Center with 45.
Voting schedule
Today, October 1, voters can cast ballots for safekeeping at any of the 933 polling stations across Latvia, including all stations in Ogre municipality, from 8:00 to 11:00. Tomorrow, October 2, stations will be open from 12:00 to 15:00, and on election day itself, October 3, polling stations nationwide will operate from 8:00 to 20:00.
Voters must bring a valid Latvian citizen's passport or an eID identity card, and voting is conducted by secret ballot. Ballots cast for safekeeping are stored in a sealed ballot box until election day; however, voters who change their mind can replace their earlier vote with a new one up until October 3.
