Latvian Vote Led by President’s Alliance
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RIGA, Latvia — An alliance of former Communists and emigres made a strong start in Latvia’s first post-Soviet election, preliminary results of voting abroad showed Sunday.
The Latvian Way alliance of President Anatolijs V. Gorbunovs, the Baltic nation’s former Communist Party ideology chief, won 34.2% of votes cast outside Latvia.
Next, with 23.7%, came the Latvian National Independence Movement, which advocates imposing strict immigration quotas on nearly a million Russians who settled in Latvia after it was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940.
The central electoral commission later announced results for two regions, both giving Latvian Way a clear lead.
No final turnout figure was immediately available, but 79.7% of the electorate inside Latvia had voted by 5 p.m. Sunday.
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