Latvian President decides not to seek re-election and explains why

Egils Levits, the President of Latvia, has decided not to run in the end-of-May election. He connected his decision to his unwillingness to give a pro-Russian candidate a chance.

On the President’s official website, a statement was made by the President of Latvia. Egils Levits will not run in future elections, according to the statement.

Coalition split in Latvia

The Latvian President explained his difficult decision by the split in the country’s Saeima. The parliament is in charge of choosing the nation’s President. 

Additionally, there has been a disagreement regarding the upcoming presidential election. Two parties favor Levits, while the other two back a different candidate, according to the currently available information.

Levits wants to avoid a pro-Kremlin candidate victory

In the light of the coalition split, Egils Levits was not expecting a perfect result. In this scenario, the presidential election would be decided by parties “that do not represent Latvia’s Western course.”

This would signal that Kremlin-friendly and oligarchic circles would start to have a say in a matter as crucial as the upcoming presidential election, Levits warned.

The Head of State pointed out how such an event would have impacted the status of the President of Latvia. Additionally, it would make it more challenging to represent the nation’s interests.

“I have decided not to run in the May 31 presidential election in light of the de facto coalition being created with pro-Kremlin political groups connected to oligarchs. I urge another candidate backed by a coalition partner to follow”.

Egils Levits

Thus, the coalition in Latvia will be able to select a single candidate and cast votes for him, Levits pointed out. In this case, the pro-West candidate will leave no chances to the contender backed by pro-Kremlin groups.