People living in Latvia were probably not too surprised to see election campaign banners appearing around the country, along with the occasional campaign booths where candidates conduct surveys, answer voters' questions, and promote their parties. For visitors and tourists, however, everything happening in the run-up to October might raise a reasonable question: what exactly is going on, and who is being elected?
The answer is simple. Every four years, Latvia holds elections to the Saeima - the country's parliament - and the next, 15th Saeima election will take place on October 3, 2026. On that day, Latvian citizens will elect 100 members who will make up the new parliament.
Although the election itself will not take place until October, the official pre-election campaign period began back on June 6, 2026.
Why is Latvia's parliament called the Saeima?
Saeima has been the name of Latvia's parliament since 1922. The word itself is associated with the idea of an assembly - a place where representatives of the people come together.
Today, the Saeima consists of 100 members. Regular parliamentary elections are held on the first Saturday of October, while the very first Saeima elections took place on October 7 and 8, 1922. It is worth noting that at the time, members of parliament were elected for three years rather than four, as they are today.
All Latvian citizens who have reached the age of 18 are eligible to vote. For a candidate list to take part in the distribution of seats in the Saeima, however, it must receive at least 5% of the vote nationwide.
That is why campaigning and the race for voters' attention matter so much. And in 2026, voters certainly have plenty to choose from - the Central Election Commission registered 14 candidate lists.
What has changed over the years?
Before every election, each party naturally runs its own campaign and talks about what it plans to change over the next four years. Some focus more on salaries, pensions, and benefits, while others talk about taxes, security, migration, national identity, or even changes to the political system itself.
But it is not only the content of these campaigns that has changed. Not so long ago, anyone wanting to learn more about candidates and their plans had to watch television, read newspapers, or try to make sense of short slogans on campaign posters. Over the past few election cycles, politics has increasingly moved onto social media as well - with short videos, interviews, trends, and direct communication with candidates.
In 2026, AI-generated videos have also become noticeably more common. At least on the official pages of political parties and some of their individual representatives, this type of content has been appearing more and more often. You could say they are keeping up with the times.
There is now far more information available than before. Election campaigning can be found almost everywhere - on the streets, on our phones, and across social media. And that means it has become easier not only to hear the latest "promise," but also to open a party's program yourself and see what it actually says.
Who is running in Latvia's 2026 Saeima election?
On the ballot, parties and political alliances will appear under the numbers assigned to their candidate lists in a draw conducted by the Central Election Commission. The official order is as follows.
Below are all 14 candidate lists, along with a very brief overview of what they focus on in their programs.
Anyone who wants to learn more should refer to official sources and read the full programs published by the parties and political alliances themselves.
- SUVERĒNĀ VARA / APVIENĪBA JAUNLATVIEŠI - the program places considerable emphasis on families, benefits, pensions, and taxes. Its proposals include raising the tax-free minimum, making changes to the second pension pillar, and providing additional support for parents with children.
- Mēs mainām noteikumus - one of the main focuses is changing the political system itself, including electoral rules, the organization of referendums, the role of individual candidates, and public funding for political parties.
- Saskaņas Centrs - a significant part of the program is devoted to social policy, including pensions, benefits, support for people with disabilities and families with children, healthcare, and labor rights.
- Zaļo un Zemnieku savienība (ZZS) - the program includes a number of specific economic targets, while its main themes include salaries and pensions, healthcare, support for families, taxes, and defense funding.
- Nacionālā apvienība - the main themes of the program include the Latvian language, national identity, demographics, migration, and national security.
- Gobzema saraksts - supports reducing the size of the public administration and expanding support for families with children, while also focusing more broadly on family issues and social values.
- APVIENOTAIS SARAKSTS - national security, defense, the economy, tax policy, and the efficiency of public administration feature prominently in the program.
- LATVIJA PIRMAJĀ VIETĀ (LPV) - proposes direct presidential elections, a number of tax changes, and expanded financial support for families. The program also places emphasis on Christian and traditional family values.
- Jaunā VIENOTĪBA - its main themes include security, cooperation with the EU and NATO, support for Ukraine, economic development, education, and changes to the tax burden on working people.
- JKP Jaunā konservatīvā partija - places strong emphasis on defense and national security, the development of the armed forces and Latvia's National Guard, as well as the economy, families, and regional development.
- Latvijas attīstībai - focuses on economic growth, entrepreneurship, technology, research, exports, and the development of high-value-added industries.
- Austošā Saule Latvijai - the program's main themes include demographics, the Latvian language, national identity, and a stricter approach to migration policy.
- Stabilitātei! - proposes changes to the structure of the state, including reducing the size of the public administration and the number of members of parliament, introducing direct presidential elections, and making changes to tax, defense, and foreign policy.
- PROGRESĪVIE - the program places considerable emphasis on reducing the tax burden on low- and middle-income earners, affordable housing, healthcare and education, the green economy, and security.
Where can you read the full party programs?
Of course, a summary this short is not enough to form a complete picture of any political party.
That is why official sources are the best place to look for more detail. The Central Election Commission has published the official candidate lists and election programs of all participants in the 2026 election. There, you can see not only the program of a particular list, but also its individual candidates, their year of birth, workplace or occupation, and electoral district. CVK data is updated throughout the election period.
You can also look through the archives to see which parties entered the Saeima after the 2022 election.
Some potential voters also look back at party programs from the previous parliamentary term to compare what was promised with what was actually achieved. In practice, however, evaluating a party's performance over an entire term is more complicated. There is no single official indicator that clearly separates results by party and shows what percentage of previous campaign "promises" were fulfilled - and calculating such a percentage objectively would be difficult anyway.
Parties may serve in government or opposition, coalition arrangements can change, and most laws are passed with votes from several parliamentary groups.
So for anyone who wants to dig a little deeper, it makes more sense to compare earlier programs with actual legislative proposals, voting records, and the work of parliamentary groups. Information about the composition and activities of the parliamentary groups in the 14th Saeima is published on the parliament's official website.
Your vote matters
A Saeima election is not just the day when we go to a polling station and mark one of the lists on the ballot. In the weeks leading up to it comes that familiar period of "promises," debates, interviews, campaign videos, posts, tweets, and political content - and with every new election cycle, there seems to be more of it.
In 2026, voters will choose between 14 candidate lists. Some of their programs overlap in certain areas, but overall they represent genuinely different political directions.
That is why it is probably worth looking beyond short slogans or social media videos. If a particular party catches your attention, you can always open its official program, look through its candidates, and, in the case of political forces that have participated before, check the archives from previous elections as well.
In the end, everyone makes their own choice. And the more clear, verifiable information you have beforehand, the easier it becomes to understand the bigger picture.
Latvia is a democratic country, and Latvian citizens who have reached voting age have the right to take part in elections. Once every four years, every voter has the opportunity to have a say in the composition of the country's next parliament.