Vote counting still not underway hours after Latvian polls closed
Nearly three hours after polling stations closed, ballot boxes across Latvia still had not been opened as officials worked through data verification issues in many municipalities. The Central Election Commission plans a meeting to decide next steps, even as isolated results already appeared online.
Hours after voter registration closed at 8pm, vote counting in Latvia's elections had still not begun, according to observations by the LETA news agency. Ballot boxes at polling stations remained unopened.
Data checks cited as the cause
Iveta Blaua, deputy chair of the Central Election Commission (CVK), explained that the delay stems from the need to clarify data in numerous municipalities. As a result, the counting process at polling stations has been held up for the time being.
Before ballot boxes can be opened, officials must also finish a broader data verification procedure and close out operations in the electronic online voter register (ETVR). Only once that is done can polling stations check whether any voters who deposited their ballots for safekeeping earlier in the week later changed their choice. If such voters are identified, their envelopes will be separated from valid ballots and then merged with the envelopes collected on election day itself, to ensure an accurate final tally.
Commission to convene
Given the situation, the CVK intends to call a commission meeting to determine how to proceed with launching the count.
At the same time, even though polling stations have not formally been cleared to open their boxes, the CVK's website already displays scattered voting results — recorded at several polling stations abroad as well as at one precinct in Jūrmala.
