1.66% of voters already cast ballots on first day of early voting
More than 25,900 Latvians cast their votes on the first day of early voting for the Saeima elections, with turnout highest in Ādaži municipality and Riga. The main election day is Saturday.
According to data compiled by the Central Election Commission (CVK), at least 25,911 voters — 1.66% of Latvia's 1,557,615 eligible voters — have already cast their ballots ahead of Saturday's Saeima elections.
Turnout was highest in Riga, where 14,436 people voted, representing 2.41% of eligible voters in the capital. That figure includes nearly 4,900 voters abroad who registered to vote by mail. Within Riga itself, 9,530 people cast ballots in person on Monday. Shopping centers proved especially popular polling locations, with the Domina Shopping mall recording the most voters, followed by Origo, Galleria Rīga, and the two Akropole locations.
Regional turnout varies
Turnout was lower elsewhere in the country. In Kurzeme, 1.01% of eligible voters cast ballots, compared to 1.08% in Zemgale and 0.75% in Latgale. In Vidzeme, where data from two polling stations was still pending, at least 1.55% of voters had participated. Among Latvia's municipalities, Ādaži recorded the highest turnout share at 3.68%, while Augšdaugava had the lowest at just 0.32%.
More polling stations than before
This year's early voting process differs significantly from the previous Saeima elections, when only 0.73% of voters cast ballots on the first day, and only at 66 polling stations over three days. This year, voters can cast ballots for safekeeping at all 933 polling stations nationwide, on every working day of election week.
The State Regional Development Agency reported that the elections platform functioned smoothly on the first day, with only a handful of support requests from polling stations. Two stations in Sigulda submitted turnout data later than others. Cybersecurity body Cert.lv confirmed no election-related anomalies or cybersecurity incidents were detected in Latvia's digital space.
The CVK noted that this early voting method allows voters to change their choice before election day itself. The main Saeima election day is Saturday.
