The counting of votes in the elections for the 15th Saeima of Latvia is delayed. Although the polling stations closed at 20:00, almost three hours after the end of voting, the ballot boxes across the country remain sealed. As reported by Laura Krastinā, a member of the Riga Election Commission, the verification and validation of data in the Electronic Online Voter Register (ETVR) is currently ongoing. Until this procedure is completed, the precinct commissions cannot begin counting the ballots. After the verification is completed, the commissions will need to determine which voters who voted early returned to the polling station on the main election day and changed their vote. In such cases, the registration envelopes related to early voting will be separated and will not be included in the final count. Only after this can they be combined with the envelopes submitted on the election day itself, and the counting of votes can begin. This is why the delay is not related to the counting of ballots, but to the mandatory data verification procedure. It is necessary to eliminate the possibility of double counting votes. As LETA correspondents have confirmed, none of the observed polling stations have opened the ballot boxes after 20:00 so far. Deputy Chairwoman of the Central Election Commission Iveta Blauma reported that the need to clarify data arose in several municipalities. To determine the next steps, the Central Election Commission will convene a special meeting. Thus, the publication of the first official election results will likely occur later than previously expected. The counting of votes cannot begin until the verification of the electronic register is completed. However, despite the fact that polling stations have not yet been allowed to open the ballot boxes, results from several overseas polling stations, as well as from one station in Jūrmala, have already appeared on the CEC website.
