In just one round of voting, Latvia’s parliament has elected doctor Valdis Zatlers as the country’s seventh president. Zatlers received 58 votes in the 100-seat Saeima, seven more than the 51 required.

His opponent, former Constitutional Court Justice Aivars Endziņš, received 39 votes.

Hundreds of protestors and supporters lined the street outside the parliament building in Rīga as deputies arrived for debates.

With both presidential candidates carrying black marks in their biographies, the runup to the May 31 vote certainly was colorful. Zatlers in recent days had received criticism for accepting bribes from patients and failing to report the extra income, while Endziņš’ past as a member of the Communist Party was called into question.

The 52-year-old Zatlers was a last-minute candidate, a compromise offered by the four political parties that make up Latvia’s coalition government. Endziņš, meanwhile, was proposed by Harmony Centre (Saskaņas Centrs), an opposition party. A third candidate, former foreign minister Sandra Kalniete and a member of the opposition New Era (Jaunais laiks), withdrew the night of May 24 and threw her support to Endziņš.

Zatlers is chairman of the board of the Hospital of Traumotology and Orthopaedics in Rīga.

Immediately after the election results were announced, Zatlers gave a very brief acceptance speech, paraphrasing Latvian writer Rūdolfs Blaumanis’ famous quote, “Mans zelts ir mana tauta, mans gods ir viņas gods” (My gold is my people, my honor is their honor).

Zatlers will replace two-term president Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, whose eight years in office end July 7.

The president-elect faced a rough start just minutes after the vote. As he left the Saeima building, he was greeted by shouts of “Aploksnes!” (Envelopes!), a reference to the under-the-table payments he has admitted to taking while treating patients.

And minutes after that during a press conference, he faced tough questioning from some in the media about the bribes he took from patients and for failing to pay income taxes. One reporter asked whether with his election corruption has been legalized in Latvia. Zatlers said he intends to lead by example and will soon meet with authorities to pay up back taxes.

Although little known in political circles, a doctor who is chairman of the board of the Hospital of Traumotology and Orthopaedics in Rīga may become the next president of Latvia, the country’s government coalition parties announced May 23, just a week before a vote in parliament is planned.

Valdis Zatlers, 52, is not a member of any party. He is being offered as a compromise candidate by Tautas partija (People’s Party), Tēvzemei un brīvībai / LNNK (For Fatherland and Freedom / LNNK), Zaļo un Zemnieku savienība (Union of Greens and Farmers), and Latvijas Pirmā Partija and Latvijas Ceļš (First Party of Latvia and Latvia’s Way, or LPP/LC).

Meanwhile, former foreign minister Sandra Kalniete, a member of the opposition party Jaunais laiks (New Era), announced late May 24 that she is withdrawing as a presidential candidate. Instead, she told viewers of the television program “Kas notiek Latvijā,” the Saeima should elect a third candidate, Aivars Endziņš, former chairman of the Constitutional Court.

Endziņš was nominated May 24 by Saskaņas centrs (Harmony Centre).

It is expected that Saeima, Latvia’s parliament, will vote on the new president on May 31. To be elected, a candidate must receive at least 51 votes in the 100-seat parliament. It is likely Zatlers would get enough votes.

The new president would replace Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, whose second term in office ends July 8.

According to Latvian media reports, the compromise on Zatlers came after the coalition parties could not agree on other candidates. Tautas partija, for example, had nominated Māris Riekstiņš, the former Latvian ambassador to the United States who was recalled to Rīga to serve as an advisor to Prime Minister Aigars Kalvītis. LPP/LC had nominated former Minister of Culture Karīna Pētersone.

Zatlers has worked at the hospital since 1994, according the hospital’s Web site. He graduated in 1979 from the Rīga Medical Institute. In 1990-1991, he spent time in the United States working with the Keggi Orthopaedic Foundation in Waterbury, Conn.

Endziņš, born in 1940, studied law at the University of Latvia and in Moscow. He also has studied in the United States. He joined the Constitutional Court in 1996. In 2006, he joined the faculty of the Turība School of Business Administration as head of the public law department.

While not specifically endorsing a candidate, Vīķe-Freiberga said in a May 23 that a nonpartisan candidate would have an easier time being elected and would be received better by the people.