Exit polls from Latvia’s general election on October 4 show the governing coalition comfortably ahead of the pro-Russian opposition.
Exit polls suggest Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma's governing alliance -- which includes the Unity party, the Nationalist Alliance, and the Union of Greens and Farmers --- won nearly 62 percent of the vote.
That would equate to about 63 of the 100 seats in parliament.
Exit polls show the pro-Russian Harmony party -- which is mainly backed by Latvia’s ethnic Russian minority -- with nearly 22 percent of the vote.
Harmony is allied with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party.
Two new parties also appeared poised to cross the 5 percent threshold needed to win parliamentary seats.
The election has been dominated by concerns about a resurgent Russia, with the Kremlin’s annexation of Crimea and involvement in eastern Ukraine causing alarm in Latvia.
Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP
