Pro-Russian party is emerging as the winner in the Latvian early parliamentary elections for the first time in 20 years since the tiny Baltic state restored independence, exit polls showed on Saturday, RIA Novosti reported.
According to exit polls, the center left leaning, pro-Russian Harmony Center party, representing Latvia's large ethnic Russian minority, has scored 28.89 percent of the total votes. It could muster up to one-third of the seats in the nation's legislature, experts say.
Business-backed Unity party is second with 20.15 percent of the vote and third is anti-corruption Reform party with 19.88 percent. However, no party is expected to gain an outright majority in the legislature, leading to possible discussion of a coalition.
Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis triggered the election after he dissolved the legislature for not backing a corruption probe of a businessman. Zatlers lost his re-election bid, but voters supported his decision to form a new legislature by passing a referendum.