Most Latvians vote for parliament dissolution

The Central Election Commission in Riga said on Sunday more than 94% of voters in Latvia and abroad supported the parliament dissolution, which is seen as a "step forward" by the vote initiator. "Latvian citizens today decided the country's fate by voting to dissolve the Saeima. This is a step forward in our political thinking," said Valdis Zatlers, a former president who called the vote a month before his term expired. Valdis Zatlers, whose presidential term expired on July 7, had moved to dissolve the Saiema, in late May, after the legislature rejected a request by Latvia's anti-corruption office to search the house of parliament member and businessman Ainars Slesers, suspected of corrupt deals. The Central Election Commission in Riga said ballots from 1,005 polling stations out of 1,028 in Latvia and abroad showed that some 94.29% of the voters supported the parliament dissolution. A half of the voters plus one are needed to support the initiative. Almost 670,000 voters took part in the referendum, or some 43% of registered voters. There is no turnout threshold. New parliamentary elections will be held within two months.