Latvia's coalition gov't takes majority

RIGA, Latvia --Latvia's ruling coalition kept its grip on power in general elections, making it first sitting government to do so since the Baltic republic broke away from the Soviet Union 15 years ago.

The victory means Latvia, one of the recent entrants to the European Union and part of the new Europe touted by the Bush Administration, will continue its support of U.S. policy in the war on terror.

It also will allow initiatives to move closer to the EU, including the adoption of the euro, to continue to move forward. The election was the country's first since joining the European Union and NATO in 2004.

Led by Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis, the three-party coalition won 51 seats in the Saeima, or parliament -- six more seats than it now has, according to official results. The fractured opposition took the remaining 49 seats.

It was the first time a government in Latvia has been re-elected since the country broke away from the Soviet Union in 1991. Latvia has had 12 governments in 15 years of independence.

Foreign Minister Artis Pabriks said the coalition appealed to voters because "we have shown ourselves to be pragmatic, patriotic and efficient. We have proven to be reliable."

Gaining admission to the EU and NATO were the dominant goals after winning independence. Latvia will host a NATO summit next month, seen as a way to cement the country's place in the international arena.

With all votes counted, the center-right three-party coalition gathered 44.8 percent, according to results posted on the Central Electoral Commission's Web site.

Kalvitis' People's Party finished first with 19.5 percent of the vote, ahead of coalition partner the Greens and Farmers Union with 16.7 percent. The third coalition party, Latvia's First, was in fifth place with 8.6 percent, the results showed.

Nearly 901,800 voters cast ballots in Saturday's election, or about 62.3 percent of eligible voters in the country of nearly 2.3 million residents.

With few hot issues in the campaign, the main question was which of Latvia's centrist or conservative parties would be given a mandate to lead the traditionally shaky coalition government.

Although the Baltic country remains among the poorest in the European Union, its economy was the fastest-growing in the bloc in 2005 when gross domestic product soared 10.2 percent.

In all, 19 political parties, consisting of 1,024 candidates, competed in the race to fill the 100-member parliament.

The results of the election will be confirmed within three weeks, said Arnis Cimdars, who heads the election commission. After the figures are recounted, they will be forward to the commission and checked for a second time.

"Then the final results can be approved," he said.