Latvia
Europe · lv
Parliamentary republic; the 100-seat Saeima is elected by proportional representation from five regional constituencies, and the president is elected by parliament rather than by voters.
Profile last reviewed July 23, 2026
Latvia elected its Constituent Assembly by universal suffrage in 1920, lost competitive elections to Soviet occupation in 1940, and restored them on independence in 1991. Two features stand out: voters can strike out or endorse individual candidates on the party list they choose, which reorders who actually takes the seats; and a substantial resident population holds "non-citizen" status and cannot vote in national elections, which makes naturalisation policy a voting-rights question rather than only a migration one.
How voting works today
- Voting age
- 18 and over
- Voter registration
- Automatic
- Identification
- Photo ID required
- Compulsory voting
- No
- Postal voting
- Restricted
- Early voting
- Available to all
- Online voting
- Not available
- Voting from abroad
- Available to all
Only citizens may vote in national elections; residents holding non-citizen status may not. Voters are drawn automatically from the population register and show an identity document. Advance voting runs on set days before the election, and postal voting is available to voters abroad.
How the franchise changed
Every entry records a change in who could vote, or how — expansions, restrictions and procedural reforms alike.
- 1920Expansion
The Constituent Assembly was elected by universal suffrage, with women and men voting on equal terms.
- 1940Restriction
Soviet occupation ended independent elections for half a century.
- 1991Expansion
Independence was restored and competitive elections resumed.
- 1998Expansion
A referendum liberalised naturalisation, opening a route to citizenship — and so to the vote — for part of the resident non-citizen population.
- 2004Reform
EU accession added European Parliament elections, in which resident EU citizens may vote locally.
Safeguards on the count
- Ballot type
- Paper ballots
- Post-election audit
- Judicial challenge only
- Election administration
- Independent commission
- Domestic observers
- Yes
- International observers
- Yes
Ballots are paper and counted by hand by precinct commissions. The Central Election Commission is a permanent body; disputes are resolved through it and the courts.
Worth knowing
- Latvian voters do not just pick a list: they may strike out candidates they oppose and add a plus beside those they favour, which reorders the list and decides who actually takes the seats.
- A substantial part of the resident population holds "non-citizen" status and cannot vote in national elections — the single largest restriction on the Latvian franchise today.
Sources
- Elections in Latvia — election observation reports— OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
- Central Election Commission of Latvia— Centrālā vēlēšanu komisija
- Voter Turnout Database— International IDEA