The next parliamentary election – to the 14th Saeima – will take place after a year, on 1 October 2022, when 100 members of parliament will be elected for the next four years. Citizens of Latvia over the age of 18 have the right to vote, while Latvian citizens who are older than 21 years may stand as candidates in the Saeima elections.
The submission of lists of candidates in parliamentary elections takes place from the 80th to 60th day before the election day, that will be from 13 July to 2 August in the 14th Saeima elections.
The list of candidates may be submitted by registered parties established no later than one year before the elections, with a minimum of 500 members. If the list of candidates is submitted by a party association, the parties belonging to it must also be established not later than one year before the elections and the association must have a total of not less than 500 members.
There are five constituencies – Riga, Vidzeme, Latgale, Kurzeme and Zemgale, and a certain number of members of the Saeima should be elected from each constituency. The number of members of the Saeima to be elected in the constituencies shall be determined by the Central Election Commission in proportion to the number of voters of the constituency, registered in the Register of Natural Persons four months before the election day.
In the elections of the Saeima, eligible voters may vote at polling stations in Latvia or abroad on the election day. A vote may be submitted for safe-keeping three days prior elections at certain polling stations in Latvia, as well there is the possibility to vote at voter’s location if a voter cannot arrive at the polling station for health reasons, cares for a sick person on the election day, or the voter is in custody. Voters abroad can take the opportunity to vote by post. Voting in the Saeima elections is also organized for soldiers and national guardsmen participating in international operations. Polling stations may also be established on ships under the flag of Latvia, which have been registered in the Republic of Latvia.
An electronic online voter register will be used to register voters at polling stations in the 14th Saeima elections, that will make participation in elections more convenient to voters which have only an identity card (eID). In previous parliamentary elections, voters who had available only an eID card needed to receive a voter card at one of the territorial units of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs before the elections. In order to ensure that each voter cast only one vote, participation in the elections was marked by a stamp on the passport or voter card, but it is intended to be replaced by a mark in the electronic online voter register.
Such an electronic online voter register was successfully used in municipal elections of 2021. The register will include all eligible voters who have the right to participate in the Saeima elections. At the polling station, the election commission employee will verify the voter's right to vote in the online register and note that the voter has already voted.
As until now, voters in the Saeima elections will be able to vote at any polling station.
CEC Information Department
Tel. +371 20237331