LATVIA-ELECTION/VOTING BEGINS Latvian parliament votes for new president

Record ID: 150526

  • Title: LATVIA-ELECTION/VOTING BEGINS Latvian parliament votes for new president
  • Date: 3rd June 2015
  • Summary: RIGA, LATVIA (JUNE 3, 2015) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** RALLY TO SUPPORT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, EGILS LEVITS, IN FRONT OF PARLIAMENT PEOPLE HOLDING POSTERS WITH LEVITS' PHOTO AND INSCRIPTION READING (Latvian) "PEOPLE'S MESSAGE" AND CHANTING: "LEVITS!" DEMONSTRATORS PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, EGILS LEVITS, BEING GREETED WITH FLOWERS, PEOPLE CHANTING:
  • Embargoed: 18th June 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Latvia
  • Country: Latvia
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA4SF4FC81G32KA6T0K3WOKMNZH
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Latvia's parliament, the Saeima, voted on Wednesday (June 3) to elect a new president, replacing incumbent Andris Berzins.
    A rally supporting ruling coalition party Nationalist Alliance candidate Egils Levits, gathered in front of parliament to greet Levits and deputies arriving for the vote. In the past, Levits served as a judge in the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union.
    In this year's poll, four candidates have been nominated from between the six parties currently represented in the parliament. A winner requires 51 votes to be elected without the need for a second round of voting.
    The centrist Union of Greens and Farmers who are members of the current leading coalition with the Nationalist Alliance, nominated their candidate, Raimonds Vejonis.
    Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma's Unity party, the biggest coalition member with 23 votes in the parliament, did not nominate a candidate for the election and its MP's are likely to be divided between Vejonis and Levits, neither of whom are a firm front-runner to be elected as the new president.
    Two opposition parties have also nominated candidates with slim chances for election, including, Sergejs Dolgopolovs, the first candidate from the Concord party, who are supported by the Latvia's Russian minority.
    No decision was reached with the first round of voting, which did not give necessary 51 votes to any of the candidates. Voting will continue, with candidates having the least votes being excluded after every round.
    The Latvian president is elected for a term of four years and is entitled to serve a second time, although incumbent Berzins from the Union of Greens and Farmers is not seeking reelection.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register