The mistakes that occurred during the recent municipal elections in Latvia should be thoroughly analyzed, and steps must be taken to ensure they are not repeated in the upcoming Saeima elections, Prime Minister Evika Siliņa (New Unity) said in an interview with LETA.
Siliņa acknowledged that election commission staff performed their duties well. However, she expressed dissatisfaction with the technical failures—specifically that the pre-developed algorithms did not function as expected under real conditions.
In her view, the Saeima should request a detailed explanation from the Central Election Commission (CVK) as to why the promised systems did not deliver.
The Prime Minister also noted that Minister for Smart Administration and Regional Development, Inga Bērziņa (New Unity), has been tasked with assessing the responsibility of the National Digital Development Agency (VDAA). According to Siliņa, this assessment should go beyond just the VDAA to include the entire process, to ensure that such technical and communication failures do not recur in future elections.
Although the election was not electronic, Siliņa emphasized that there should have been clear communication about procedures in the event of technical issues—such as when manual vote counting is required. She believes the CVK could have responded and made decisions more swiftly.
When asked about the responsibility of CVK Chair Kristīne Saulīte, Siliņa said that the CVK is accountable to the Saeima. However, she intends to encourage her parliamentary colleagues to seek explanations and ask questions both of the CVK leadership and representatives of the VDAA.
She concluded that, from a technical perspective, the election process could have been managed much more effectively.
Siliņa also highlighted the high turnout in the municipal elections, describing it as a very positive sign for Latvian democracy.
As reported, the vote-counting process in the 2025 municipal elections was hampered by technical issues on Saturday night and into Sunday. Similar problems had also been encountered at polling stations during the early voting period.
President Edgars Rinkēvičs has stated that both the CVK and the VDAA failed in their responsibilities to organize the elections properly and that the accountability of the officials involved must be reviewed.
Source: BNS
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