2022 Latvian Parliamentary Election
Parliamentary elections were held in Latvia on 1 October 2022, following the end of the term of the 13th Saeima elected in 2018. Electoral system The 100 members of the Saeima are elected by open list, proportional representation from five multi-member constituencies ranging in size from 12 to 36 seats and based on the regions of Latvia, with overseas votes included in the Riga constituency. Seats are allocated using the Sainte-Laguë method with a national electoral threshold of 5%. Voters may cast "specific votes" for candidates on the list that they have voted for. This involves drawing a plus sign (+) next to the candidate's names to indicate preference (positive votes), or by crossing out names to indicate dissaproval (negative votes). The number of votes for each candidate is the number of votes cast for the list, plus their number of positive votes, minus their number of negative votes. The candidates with the highest vote totals fill their party's seats. Seat redistrib ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Saeima
The Saeima () is the parliament of the Republic of Latvia. It is a unicameral parliament consisting of 100 members who are elected by proportional representation, with seats allocated to political parties which gain at least 5% of the popular vote. Elections are scheduled to be held once every four years, normally on the first Saturday of October. The most recent elections were held in October 2022. The President of Latvia can dismiss the Saeima and request early elections. The procedure for dismissing it involves substantial political risk to the president, including a risk of loss of office. On 28 May 2011 president Valdis Zatlers decided to initiate the dissolution of the Saeima, which was approved in a referendum, and the Saeima was dissolved on 23 July 2011. The current Speaker of the Saeima is Edvards Smiltēns of the United List party. History and etymology The Saeima traces its origins to the Sejm of the Kingdom of Poland, which led to the creation of the Sejm (S ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Regions Of Latvia
Historical Latvian Lands ( lv, Latviešu vēsturiskās zemes) or formerly Cultural regions of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas kultūrvēsturiskie novadi) are several areas within Latvia formally recognised as distinct from the rest of the country. While some of these regions are seen purely as culturally distinct, others have historically been parts of different countries and have been used to divide the country for administrative and other purposes. The Constitution of Latvia recognises four distinct regions: Kurzeme, Zemgale, Latgale and Vidzeme. On 16 June 2021, the Saeima adopted the Historical Latvian Lands Law which aims to create the necessary preconditions for strengthening the common identity of the population and for the preservation and sustainable development of the cultural and historical environment and cultural spaces of the historical Latvian lands. The Law underscores the belonging of each parish and town in Latvia to one of the five historical Latvian lands: Vidzeme, La ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jānis Urbanovičs
Jānis Urbanovičs (born 23 March 1959) is a Latvian politician and author. He has been a member of the Saeima since 1994. From 2005–2010 Urbanovičs was chairman of the National Harmony Party and from 2010–2014 and again since 2019 the chairman of Harmony. Biography Urbanovičs was born in 1959 in Rēzekne District, Latvia, into a large devout Catholic family of modest means. During World War II his father fought Nazi Germany in the Red Army, while his uncle was in the Latvian Waffen-SS Legion. During his school years, Urbanovičs worked on different irrigation engineering projects, shaping his choice of education. In 1982, he graduated from the Latvian Academy of Agriculture as a hydraulic engineer. At the same time, he mastered cabinetmaking, which is still a hobby today. He then worked as a Chief Engineer leading various construction projects. In 1984, during the early years of Perestroika, he became a part of the LĻKJS, the communist youth league where he soo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ivars Zariņš
Ivars Zariņš (born 1969) is a Latvian politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking .... He is a member of Harmony and a deputy of the 12th Saeima. References Saeima website 1969 births Living people People from Jēkabpils Social Democratic Party "Harmony" politicians Deputies of the 11th Saeima Deputies of the 12th Saeima Deputies of the 13th Saeima University of Latvia alumni Latvian economists {{Latvia-politician-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Russians In Latvia
In Latvia, Russians have been the largest ethnic minority in the country for the last two centuries. The number of Russians in Latvia more than quadrupled during the Soviet occupation of Latvia when the size of the community grew from 8.8% of the total population in 1935 (206,499) to 34.0% in 1989 (905,515). It started to decrease in size again after Latvia regained independence in 1991 falling to 25.2% at the beginning of 2018. Ancient Latvia The Latvian word ''krievi'' for "Russians" and ''Krievija'' for "Russia" (and ''Krievzeme'' for Ruthenia) is thought to have originated from Krivichs, one of the tribal unions of Early East Slavs. During the 11th–12th centuries, Jersika and Koknese, principalities in Eastern Latvia paid tribute to the Principality of Polatsk. Livonia Koknese was taken by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword in 1208 and Jersika in 1209 and later both incorporated into Terra Mariana (Livonia). Early trade East Slavic presence remained, primarily as me ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Social Democracy
Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote social justice within the framework of a liberal-democratic polity and a capitalist-oriented mixed economy. The protocols and norms used to accomplish this involve a commitment to representative and participatory democracy, measures for income redistribution, regulation of the economy in the general interest, and social welfare provisions. Due to longstanding governance by social democratic parties during the post-war consensus and their influence on socioeconomic policy in Northern and Western Europe, social democracy became associated with Keynesianism, the Nordic model, the social-liberal paradigm, and welfare states within political circles in the late 20th century. It has been described as the most common form of Western ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Social Democratic Party "Harmony"
The Social Democratic Party "Harmony" ( lv, Sociāldemokrātiskā partija "Saskaņa"; russian: Социал-демократическая партия «Согласие», Sotsial-demokraticheskaya partiya «Soglasiye», S),The party officially translates its name as ''Social Democratic Party "Concord"''. also commonly referred to as Harmony (''Saskaņa''), is a social-democratic political party in Latvia. It was the largest political party in the Saeima, representing the Russian minority of Latvia, before losing all of its parliamentary seats in the 2022 Latvian parliamentary election, and it is currently led by Jānis Urbanovičs. It was founded in 2010 as the merger of the National Harmony Party (TSP) with New Centre (JC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), a breakaway from the Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party (LSDSP). At the time, all three parties were a part of the Harmony Centre coalition, which was also made up of the Socialist Party of Latvia. The Dauga ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Thirteenth Saeima Of Latvia
The Thirteenth Saeima of Latvia was elected in the 2018 Latvian parliamentary election held on 6 October 2018. The Saeima's term commenced on 6 November 2018 and will end on 1 November 2022. Elections The 100 members of the Saeima are elected by open list proportional representation from five multi-member constituencies ( Kurzeme, Latgale, Riga (in which overseas votes are counted), Vidzeme and Zemgale) between 12 and 35 seats in size. Seats are allocated using the Sainte-Laguë method with a national electoral threshold of 5%. Composition Parliamentary groups After the elections, the parliamentary groups were formed in the Saeima on the party lines, with the exception of MP Julija Stepanenko Julija Stepanenko (russian: Юлия Степаненко, Julija Stepanenko, lv, Jūlija Stepaņenko; born Julija Fedotova on 1 September 1977) is a Latvian politician and lawyer, serving as a deputy of the Saeima, the parliament of Latvia. For ..., who was elected from th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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United List (Latvia)
The United List ( lv, Apvienotais saraksts; AS) is a centrist and regionalist political alliance in Latvia established to contest the 2022 parliamentary election. The list consists of the Latvian Green Party, the Latvian Association of Regions, the Liepāja Party, as well as the "United List of Latvia" () association led by Liepāja construction contractor Uldis Pīlēns. The list was founded on 1 July 2022. Later, LRA and LZP leaders Edvards Smiltēns and Edgars Tavars became the co-chairmen of the board of the association, and Uldis Pīlēns was named as the prime minister candidate. The interim name of the ticket, in the works since May 2022, was reported as the "United List of Latvia" or the "Latvia United List" () – previously, "Power of Regions" (''Reģionu spēks'') was suggested). The NGO led by Pīlēns scheduled its founding event for 1 July and announced that it would be called ''Apvienotais Latvijas saraksts''. Pīlēns was announced as the alliance's candidate ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Latvian Green Party
The Latvian Green Party ( lv, Latvijas Zaļā partija, LZP) is a green political party in Latvia. It was founded in 1990. It was a member of the European Green Party from 2003 until its expulsion in 2019. It is positioned in the centre and leans towards the centre-right on the political spectrum, FIBS Report: Central Eurasia, 1993, p. 107. and it supports socially conservative views. The party held the world's first prime minister affiliated to a green party with Indulis Emsis who in 2004 briefly served as Prime Minister of Latvia, and the world's first head of state as party member Raimonds Vējonis served as President of Latvia between 2015 and 2019. History The Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia elected in 1990 contained seven Green delegates. After the Constitution of Latvia was restored, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the election of the 5th Saeima (1993-1995) returned one Green deputy, Anna Seile, on the list of the Latvian National Independence Mov ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Viktors Valainis
Viktors is a Latvian masculine given name. It is a cognate of the English given name Victor and may refer to: *Viktors Arājs (1910–1988), Latvian collaborator and Nazi SS officer * Viktors Alksnis (born 1950), Russian-born Latvian politician and former Soviet Air Force colonel *Viktors Bertholds (1921–2009) Latvian who was one of the last native speakers of the Livonian language * Viktors Bļinovs (born 1981), Latvian ice hockey forward *Viktors Dobrecovs (born 1977), Latvian football striker and manager *Viktors Eglītis (1877–1945), Latvian writer and art theorist *Viktors Hatuļevs (1955–1994), Latvian ice hockey defenseman and left winger *Viktors Ignatjevs (born 1970), Latvian ice hockey player *Viktors Lācis (born 1977), Latvian middle-distance runner *Viktors Lukaševičs (born 1972), Latvian footballer *Viktors Morozs (born 1980), Latvian football midfielder *Viktors Ņesterenko (born 1954), Latvian football coach and former footballer * Viktors Pūpols (born 1 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Latvian Farmers' Union
The Latvian Farmers' Union ( lv, Latvijas Zemnieku savienība, LZS) is an agrarian political party in Latvia. Initially formed in 1917 during the period of Latvian War of Independence, it was banned in 1934. It was re-established in 1990. It is positioned in the centre on the political spectrum and it has expressed conservative and nationalistic rhetoric. Since 2002, the party has been a part of the Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS), together with the Latvian Green Party. It was formerly a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe. History Founded in 1917, the party was the most influential conservative party in Latvia in the period from Independence in 1918 until the self-coup led by Kārlis Ulmanis in 1934, and the second most popular party overall after the Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party. Ulmanis, who was a member of the party, banned all political parties after his coup including the LZS. As Latvia was subsequently occupied during the cour ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |