The party mostly supported by the country’s ethnic Russians won 19.9% of the vote in Latvia’s general elections over the weekend, making it the largest party in the country for the second election in a row. Several other parties, however, refuse to form a coalition with them due to their Russian ties, making it unlikely that the party will be a part of whatever ruling coalition emerges from the elections. Voter turnout stood at under 55%, the lower since its independence from the Soviet Union. It will likely take several weeks of negotiations for Latvia to create a new ruling coalition. The election was, in many ways, a proving ground for defending against Russian misinformation and hacking campaigns, which spiked in the country in the lead-up to the elections. Reports have not yet indicated the level of success or failure of these efforts, and any impact it may have had on the elections.
Source: Latvia election puts pro-Russia Harmony party on top | News | DW | 07.10.2018
