Snap elections officially set for Sept. 17

RIGA -- Latvia's snap parliamentary elections have been officially set to Sept. 17, giving political parties until Aug. 18 to submit their election tickets.

Polls indicate that the election will be dominated by former president Valdis Zatlers' newly formed Reform Party and the pro-Russian rights left wing Harmony Center. The parties are tied with the support of 17.5 percent of the electorate.

"I believe this is a good opportunity to ensure that parties which represent oligarch interests or vote in the interest of oligarchs will not have the majority in the next parliament," Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis told journalists after the vote.

The ruling Unity party (and Dombrovskis), however, have seen support plummet to just over 11 percent -- the party is set to see heavy losses from the 33 seats they took less than a year ago in the 100 seat parliament -- with many having gone over to Reform.

The elections are set to take place after nearly 95% of ballots cast in the referendum to dissolve parliament were in favor of new elections. Around 45% of the population participated in the referendum, a relatively high number for the apathetic electorate.

The historic referendum was called for by Zatlers in response to a parliamentary vote blocking anti-corruption officials from investigating one of the country's so-called "oligarchs".