2002 Latvian parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Latvia on 5 October 2002.^[1] The New Era Party emerged as the largest party in the Saeima, winning 26 of the 100 seats.

2002 Latvian parliamentary election

← 1998 5 October 2002 2006 →
All 100 seats in the Saeima 51 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	77.03% ( 6.03 pp)
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/– JL Einars Repše 23.98 26 New ForHRUL Jānis Jurkāns 19.09 25 +9 TP Andris Šķēle 16.69 20 −4 LPP Ainārs Šlesers 9.57 10 New ZZS Ingrīda Ūdre 9.47 12 +12 TB/LNNK Jānis Straume 5.39 7 −10 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. Results by district Prime Minister before Prime Minister after Andris Bērziņš Latvian Way Einars Repše New Era Party

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	New Era Party	237,452	23.98	26	New
	For Human Rights in United Latvia	189,088	19.09	25	+9
	People's Party	165,246	16.69	20	–4
	Latvia's First Party	94,752	9.57	10	New
	Union of Greens and Farmers	93,759	9.47	12	+12
	For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK	53,396	5.39	7	–10
	Latvian Way	48,430	4.89	0	–21
	Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party	39,837	4.02	0	–14
	Light of Latgale	15,948	1.61	0	New
	Social Democratic Party	15,162	1.53	0	New
	Social Democratic Welfare Party	13,234	1.34	0	New
	Political Alliance "Centre"[a]	5,819	0.59	0	New
	Russian Party	4,724	0.48	0	New
	Latvians' Party	3,919	0.40	0	New
	Latvian Revival Party	2,558	0.26	0	New
	Freedom Party	2,075	0.21	0	New
	Mara's Land	1,446	0.15	0	New
	Citizens' Union "Our Land"	1,349	0.14	0	0
	Progressive Centre Party	1,229	0.12	0	New
	Latvian United Republican Party	826	0.08	0	New
Total		990,249	100.00	100	0
Valid votes		990,249	99.25
Invalid/blank votes		7,505	0.75
Total votes		997,754	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		1,295,287	77.03
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

1. Political Alliance "Centre" was an alliance of Latvia's Democratic Party, the Workers' Party, For Freedom in Latvia and the Union of Latvian Farmers.^[2]

Aftermath

Voters severely punished the previous governing parties, with the People's Party and For Fatherland and Freedom both losing seats, while Latvian Way lost all its MPs.

A new coalition government was formed by the New Era Party, Latvia's First Party, For Fatherland and Freedom and the Union of Greens and Farmers. This enjoyed a parliamentary majority of 55 of the 100 MPs. However, after two years For Fatherland and Freedom left the coalition and was replaced by the People's Party, who returned to government after a two-year absence.

References

1. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1122 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
2. Nohlen & Stöver, p1135