Latvians vote to elect new parliament

RIGA - Latvian voters are going to the polls on Saturday to elect a new parliament, the 13th Saeima, for the next four years.

The new parliament will determine the makeup of the next government coalition which will replace the outgoing tripartite center-right coalition consisting of the Greens and Farmers Union, the Unity and the National Alliance.

A total of 16 political parties and electoral alliances have registered for Saturday's election, but six or seven stand a real chance of winning representation because only those parties that receive more than 5 percent of the vote can receive a mandate in Latvia's 100-seat parliament under electoral law.

Harmony, a leftist party currently in opposition, is expected to win the election, according to public opinion polls. However, to form a government, Harmony will have to look for potential allies.