Latvia: Ruling party leads in exit polls amid populist gains

The party of Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs took a comfortable lead in parliamentary elections on Saturday, exit polls showed. Kulbergs' centerist, pro-Ukraine party, United List, was projected to win 35.6% of the vote, according to an exit poll by public proadcaster LSM. "It's remarkably ‌good. ​I was not expecting such result," Kulbergs said at his party's headquarters in Riga. The exit poll put the the populist Latvia First party in second place with 11.3% — nearly double its share at the last election in 2022. It had courted the country's substantial ethnic Russian minority. Kulbergs said on Saturday night that he would not cooperate with any pro-Russian parties and specifically ruled out forming a coaltition with Latvia First.