Harmony Center wins Latvian elections

RIGA -- The left-leaning, pro-Russian rights Harmony Center party has won Latvia's snap elections, taking 31 seat in the 100-member parliament.

The newly formed Zatlers' Reform Party came in second place with 22 seats, while the ruling Unity party was third with 20 mandates. The only other two parties to cross the 5% threshold necessary for representation in Parliament were the nationalist Visu-Latvijai (VL-TB/LNNK) alliance and the Green's and Farmers' Union (ZZS).

The results mean that Unity has lost a total of 13 seats in the election over their performance 11 months ago. Most of those seats have gone to ZRP.

ZZS also lost 9 seats in the election, while Slesers' Reform Party-LPP/LC was bumped from parliament alltogether. Harmony Center gained 2 seats while VL-TB/LNNK gained 7.

Party leaders have reportedly already begun coalition negotiations, with ZRP and Unity entering talks shortly after the results were known. Coalition forming may be a difficult process this year as many of the parties have announced that they would refuse to work together.

Ultimately it will be up to President Andris Berzins to ask one of the parties to form a government.