Latvia to remain Russia's critic as prime minister wins election

RIGA - The centre-right New Unity party of Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins won Saturday's election, according to provisional results, with its 19 per cent of the vote putting him in a position to head another coalition government.

The first Latvian head of government to serve a full four-year term, Mr Karins, a 57-year-old dual United States and Latvian citizen, has benefited from his Moscow policy, which included restricting the entry of Russian citizens travelling from Russia and Belarus. But his victory could widen a rift between the country's Latvian majority and its Russian-speaking minority over their place in society.The election results show falling support for parties popular with Latvia's Russian-speaking minority, which make up about a quarter of the country's population of 1.9 million.

"The Russian voters are migrating across the national line and they are voting for Latvian . This is positive", said Mr Filips Rajevskis, an analyst.The opposition Greens and Farmers Union, a coalition of conservative groups closely knit around Mr Aivars Lembergs, the long-term mayor of Ventspils who was put on a US sanctions list for alleged corruption in 2019, was in second place with 13 per cent.

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