So far, ten different political forces have indicated they will be participating in the elections.
Submission of lists to the Central Election Commission will last from July 13 to August 2. Several parties have already applied to submit lists on the first day of their acceptance, even though this does not give them any advantage over other competitors other than the ability to attract early headlines. Some have even published details of their lists before they have even submitted them to the CVK.
According to CVK chairwoman Kristīne Bērzina, four years ago, 16 candidate lists were submitted and while 10 seems the likely figure this time around, there is still time for that number to be increased.
The voting procedure for voters will be similar to last year's municipal elections. For the first time, it will be possible to vote in the Saeima elections using an identification (ID) cards instead of a passport and it will not be necessary to take out a separate voter's card. Also, passports will no longer be stamped to show participation in the elections, as an online voter register will operate.
While there will not be online voting as in Estonia, for example, In 66 polling stations, voters will be provided with the opportunity to deposit their vote early. There will be 20 polling stations in Riga where votes can be deposited ahead of election day, and in Daugavpils, Liepāja, Ogre and Valmiera there will be two such polling stations each, while in the other municipalities - one each.
"Voting in advance is increasingly common. We will have to expect a large influx of people at the polling stations. There will be various misunderstandings, and people will not understand why only one polling station is open for advance voting, where you can cast your vote for safekeeping, but this follows from the Constitution," said Bērziņa.
The next parliamentary election in Latvia, to decide the composition of the 14th Saeima, will take place on October 1, 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 will take place from the 80th to 60th day before the election day, i.e. from July 13 to August 2.
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 (joining together of more than one party), 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 fewer than 500 members.
There are five constituencies – Riga, Vidzeme, Latgale, Kurzeme and Zemgale, and a specified number of members of the Saeima are elected from each constituency, determined by the Central Election Commission in proportion to the number of voters of the constituency.
More infromation about te Saeima elections is available from the CVK website: https://www.cvk.lv/en
