Latvians rejected making Russian an official language

  • 2012-02-20

RIGA - On Feb. 19, the Central Election Commission reported an unofficial results of the referendum from all 1,035 polling stations nationwide and around the globe, showing a convincing majority - 821,722 or 74.8 percent opposed to the motion making Russian the second official state language in Latvia.

In favor of the motion were 273 347 or 24.88 percent of citizens.

Overall 1,098,593 people went to the polls on Saturday, or 70.73 percent.

The capital Riga counted 315,057 or 77.11percent of voters.

A total of 33,817 or 61.99 percent voted in foreign countries.

Voting "against" in Riga to the proposed motion were 193,976 or 61.59 percent of eligible voters; 119,621 or 37.98 voted "for."

Latgale Province in eastern Latvia had a different picture compared to the rest of the nation, with 55.57 percent voting in favor of the constitutional amendments to 44.02 percent opposed.