LATVIA-Presidential Vote Moves To 2nd Round As Candidates Fall Short

Following on from ourearlier bullet, no candidate has been able to secure the 51 votes in favour required in the 100 member Latvian parliament (Saeima) to win in the first round. Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs from the largest party in gov't, the liberal conservative New Unity, came in first with 42 votes in favour. Businessman and green conservative New Unity founder Uldis Pīlēns came second with 25 votes and liberal civic activist Elīna Pinto backed by the centre-left Progressives came third with 10 votes.

• The contest now moves on to a second round. In each of the first-round votes, only 87 votes were cast meaning 13 deputies abstained from the contest.
• Previous media reportsalleged that New Unity were seeking the support of the 10 Progressives' members, who in the first round have voted en masse for Pinto. Should they now back Rinkēvičs and all other MPs maintain their support it would secure his victory.