Arctic Daishi
Warlord
Being an admirer of Baltic culture and history, I must say that I am looking forward to the upcoming local elections in Latvia. The elections will take place on June 1st. Unlike it's neighbors, Estonia and Lithuania, Latvia has abolished it's first-level administrative divisions, meaning that local municipalities are the highest level of local government in the country. A number of political parties are expected to take part in the elections, I will briefly cover the main parties below.
Social Democratic Party "Harmony" is the largest left-wing party in Latvia. It is a social democratic party that generally supports a strong welfare state and claims to represent the Russian minority in Latvia. Social Democratic Party "Harmony" is allied with the Socialist Party of Latvia, which is the successor to the former ruling communist party. Harmony Centre received 28.36% of the vote in the 2011 parliamentary election, winning 31 seats.
Unity is one of two major centre-right parties in Latvia. It is a liberal conservative party that started out as a coalition of three right-wing parties. Eventually the three parties merged into a single party. Unity is currently heading a coalition government, working with the National Alliance and Reform Party. Unity received 18.83% of the vote in the 2011 parliamentary election, winning 20 seats.
The Reform Party is the other major centre-right party in Latvia, founded by Valdis Zatlers, the former president of Latvia. The Reform Party entered a coalition with Unity and the National Alliance. Despite holding more parliamentary seats than Unity, the Reform Party is generally considered to be a junior member of the coalition government. The Reform Party received 20.82% of the vote in the 2011 parliamentary election, winning 22 seats.
The Latvian Green Party and Latvian Farmers' Union are currently part of a coalition, the Union of Greens and Farmers. The Union of Greens and Farmers represents the interests of both agrarians and environmentalists. The Union of Greens and Farmers is opposed to the European Union. The Union of Greens and Farmers received 12.22% of the vote in the 2011 parliamentary election, winning 13 seats.
The National Alliance "All For Latvia!" – "For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK" is a national conservative, nationalist and economically liberal party. It started out as a coalition between All for Latvia! and For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK, but eventually became a unified political party. The National Alliance received 13.88% of the vote in the 2011 parliamentary election, winning 14 seats.
The Socialist Party of Latvia is the successor to the banned Communist Party of Latvia, which ruled the country after it was invaded by the Soviet Union. The Socialist Party of Latvia is a communist party and believes Latvia should become a single-party communist state again. It is currently allied with Social Democratic Party "Harmony" and received three seats in the 2011 parliamentary election.
The main minor parties participating in the election are the Christian Democratic Union, For Human Rights in United Latvia and Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party. The Christian Democratic Union is a christian democratic party that supports social conservatism and economic liberalism. For Human Rights in United Latvia is a democratic socialist party that represents the Russian minority in Latvia. The Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party is a social democratic party that claims to be the continuation of the historical party (of the same name).
Please use this thread to discuss the upcoming local elections and their aftermath. What do you believe will be the outcome of these elections? Will these elections reflect the public's opinion of the Dombrovskis government? And which party would you vote for in the election?
Social Democratic Party "Harmony" is the largest left-wing party in Latvia. It is a social democratic party that generally supports a strong welfare state and claims to represent the Russian minority in Latvia. Social Democratic Party "Harmony" is allied with the Socialist Party of Latvia, which is the successor to the former ruling communist party. Harmony Centre received 28.36% of the vote in the 2011 parliamentary election, winning 31 seats.
Unity is one of two major centre-right parties in Latvia. It is a liberal conservative party that started out as a coalition of three right-wing parties. Eventually the three parties merged into a single party. Unity is currently heading a coalition government, working with the National Alliance and Reform Party. Unity received 18.83% of the vote in the 2011 parliamentary election, winning 20 seats.
The Reform Party is the other major centre-right party in Latvia, founded by Valdis Zatlers, the former president of Latvia. The Reform Party entered a coalition with Unity and the National Alliance. Despite holding more parliamentary seats than Unity, the Reform Party is generally considered to be a junior member of the coalition government. The Reform Party received 20.82% of the vote in the 2011 parliamentary election, winning 22 seats.
The Latvian Green Party and Latvian Farmers' Union are currently part of a coalition, the Union of Greens and Farmers. The Union of Greens and Farmers represents the interests of both agrarians and environmentalists. The Union of Greens and Farmers is opposed to the European Union. The Union of Greens and Farmers received 12.22% of the vote in the 2011 parliamentary election, winning 13 seats.
The National Alliance "All For Latvia!" – "For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK" is a national conservative, nationalist and economically liberal party. It started out as a coalition between All for Latvia! and For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK, but eventually became a unified political party. The National Alliance received 13.88% of the vote in the 2011 parliamentary election, winning 14 seats.
The Socialist Party of Latvia is the successor to the banned Communist Party of Latvia, which ruled the country after it was invaded by the Soviet Union. The Socialist Party of Latvia is a communist party and believes Latvia should become a single-party communist state again. It is currently allied with Social Democratic Party "Harmony" and received three seats in the 2011 parliamentary election.
The main minor parties participating in the election are the Christian Democratic Union, For Human Rights in United Latvia and Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party. The Christian Democratic Union is a christian democratic party that supports social conservatism and economic liberalism. For Human Rights in United Latvia is a democratic socialist party that represents the Russian minority in Latvia. The Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party is a social democratic party that claims to be the continuation of the historical party (of the same name).
Please use this thread to discuss the upcoming local elections and their aftermath. What do you believe will be the outcome of these elections? Will these elections reflect the public's opinion of the Dombrovskis government? And which party would you vote for in the election?
Latvia
