Latvia Votes in Parliamentary Elections

A total of 953 polling stations in Latvia, and 98 stations in 41 other countries have opened on Saturday for the country's parliamentary elections.

The Central Elections Commission will publish the initial results shortly after midnight. Final results are expected to be announced by Sunday, Itar-Tass reports.

Some 30 international observers, including representatives of OSCE, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kosovo, Lithuania, Estonia and Russia have been allowed to the polling stations.

The roughly 1.5 million eligible voters in Saturday's elections can choose from 13 parties.

Current ruling center-right coalition under Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuman is likely to emerge victorious, DW notes, citing recent polls carried out by the independent research company SKDS, according to which the four parties in the coalition scored 33 to 61% support, against 18-24% for the opposition left-wing Harmony party, which is mainly backed by the quarter of the population who are ethnic Russians.