Survey: Nearly half of Latvians don't know who their loved ones will vote for

A survey by research centre SKDS, conducted just weeks before Latvia's 15th Saeima elections, found that nearly half of the population — 47.2% — does not know, or has not discussed with close friends and family, which party they intend to support. Only 9.6% of respondents said they know the voting plans of all their loved ones, while 36.9% know about some of them.

Differences between party supporters

Supporters of the JKP New Conservative Party proved the most tight-lipped, with all respondents in that group saying they either don't know or don't discuss the topic with relatives. A similar pattern appeared among supporters of the Gobzems list (71.2%) and the National Alliance (48%).

By contrast, supporters of Rising Sun for Latvia were the most open, with 74.2% knowing about all or some of their relatives' choices. Harmony Centre (69.1%) and Latvia's Development (65.6%) supporters also reported high levels of openness.

Age, education and gender patterns

Young people aged 18 to 24 were the most open about discussing voting plans, with 76.7% aware of their loved ones' choices. Older respondents, particularly those aged 65–74 (56.6%), were more likely to say they don't know or don't discuss the topic. People with higher education were more open (65.8%) compared to those with secondary education (47.2% reported not knowing). Men were somewhat more likely than women to know their relatives' voting plans.

Sources of information

The survey also found that friends and family are a relatively minor source of election information, cited as the main source by just 10.9% of respondents. Most people rely on online news portals (55.8%), social media (47.7%) or television (42.4%). Television is especially popular among supporters of New Unity and the United List, while social media dominates among Rising Sun for Latvia supporters.

SKDS conducted the survey between September 12 and 16, polling 1,005 Latvian citizens aged 18 and older. The 15th Saeima elections will take place on Saturday, October 3, with polling stations open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.