Less than 15 percent of all potential voters abroad participated in the July 23 Latvian referendum on dissolving the Saeima, according to data compiled by the Central Election Commission in Rīga.

However, like voters in the homeland, they overwhelmingly supported former President Valdis Zatlers’ call to send lawmakers home. They cast 94.9 percent of their ballots in favor of dissolving the parliament and 4.9 percent against.

A record number of 78 polling stations operated in 41 countries outside Latvia. As in the homeland, they were open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time. The increased number of polling stations was in answer to concerns by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that there was little time for citizens abroad to apply to vote by mail.

Just 10 of the total 7,547 ballots cast outside Latvia were spoiled. In all, 7,554 voters abroad participated in the referendum, suggesting that a handful never turned in a ballot.

Voters at the six polling stations in the United Kingdom led the way in country totals, handing in an even 1,500 ballots. They were followed by voters in the United States (1,238), Ireland (593), Germany (506) and Sweden (485). Surprisingly, Australian voters, who in past parliamentary elections have been rather active, recorded just 480 ballots. Voters in Canada handed in 455 ballots.

By individual polling station London was the most active, with 523 ballots cast, followed by Stockholm (395), Dublin (387), Oslo (339) and Toronto (336). The least amount of ballots cast was in Ankara, Turkey, where just three voters participated.

The polling station at the Latvian Center Gaŗezers near Three Rivers, Mich., recorded 241 ballots—nearly 20 percent of the U.S. total. In addition to the usual summer campers, the center was the site during the weekend of Culture Days (Kultūras dienas), an event featuring art, music and theatre.

The polling station in Vitebsk, Belarus, was the only one abroad in which the number of votes against dissolving the Saeima exceeded the number of votes for: 5-3. The four voters in Santiago, Chile, were evenly split on the issue. In Brussels, Belgium, where many Latvian citizens work for European Union institutions, more than 12 percent of voters were against letting the Saeima go home.

By contrast, balloters at eight polling stations abroad were convinced enough that everyone voted for dissolving the Saeima: Sao Paulo, Brazil; Cairo, Egypt; Athens, Greece; Astana, Kazakhstan; Ljublana, Slovakia; Ankara, Turkey; and St. Petersburg, Fla., and Milwaukee, Wis., in the United States. Voters at those polling stations also were careful, as no spoiled ballots were reported.

In countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States, local Latvian organizations could take credit for doing much of the work of organizing voting, according to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ballots such as this were used by voters in the July 23 national referendum to signal whether they were for (par) or against (pret) dissolving the Saeima. (Image from Central Election Commission)

The 100 lawmakers in the Saeima will be out of work after voters in Latvia on July 23 decided to dissolve parliament. New elections are planned in September. (Photo by Andris Straumanis)

With all polling stations reporting, provisional results of Latvia’s national referendum show that about 94 percent of voters have told the 10th Saeima to pack up and go home.

Counting of ballots began shortly after polls closed at 10 p.m. in Latvia, according to the Central Election Commission in Rīga. The last to vote were Latvian citizens on the West Coast of the United States.

At around 10 a.m. July 24, the election commission reported counting 689,823 ballots, of which 94.3 percent were in favor of dissolving the parliament and 5.48 percent were against. The remaining 0.21 percent of ballots were deemed spoiled.

Total turnout in the homeland and abroad represented 44.73 percent of all eligible voters. Latvian citizens in the homeland could vote at any one of 950 polling stations. Abroad, a record 78 polling stations were in operation.

If the results hold—and political observers expect they will—the 100 lawmakers who make up the Saeima will be out of a job less than a year after being elected in October.

Elections for a new parliament are planned for September.

The referendum was ordered after then-President Valdis Zatlers on May 28 call for dissolution of the Saeima. It is the first time a Latvian president has used the constitutional power.

(Updated 24 JUL 2011)

Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis is on a two-week visit to the Americas, with tours of Brazil and the United States on his agenda to promote trade and development.

Dombrovskis headed to Brazil on July 8 and will be there until July 12, according to spokeswoman Zanda Šadre. With him are representatives of seven Latvian companies.

The prime minister’s first stop was July 9 in Rio de Janeiro, where he was scheduled to tour the city’s port and meet with Latvians in Brazil who are involved in business. On July 10, Dombrovskis is to meet with the mayor of Nova Odessa, visit the Fazenda Velha Latvian church and meet with representatives of Brazilian Latvian organizations.

Dombrovskis heads to São Paulo on July 11, where he will meet with Mayor Geraldo Jose Rodrigues Alckmin Fliho and, together with the Latvian trade delegation, attend the second Latvian-Brazilian business forum hosted by Commerce and Industry Federation of São Paulo.

During the visit to São Paulo, the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry will sign a memorandum of understanding with the Commerce and Industry Federation, while the Freeport of Rīga will sign a memorandum with officials of the Santo port.

Dombrovskis also is to be interviewed by the daily newspaper Folha de São Paulo.

On July 12, the prime minister is to travel to the capital city of Brasilia where he will meet with Brazilian Vice President Michel Temer and other government officials. He also is to be interviewed by the newspaper Correio Braziliense and will visit the Swedish Embassy to meet with Brazilian business people.

After his arrival in Washington, D.C., Dombrovskis is scheduled July 13 to meet with U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. The balance of the day will be spent visiting with representatives of several American companies and, in the evening, with leaders of the American Latvian Association.

On July 14, the prime minister is to be interviewed by The Washington Post and Newsweek; present his book How Latvia Came Through Financial Crisis to the World Bank; meet with Rep. Gregory Meeks and Sen. James Inhofe; and, together with economist and co-author Anders Aslund, present his book to the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

The prime minister will then switch coasts and on July 15 visit the San Francisco area and Silicon Valley. On his agenda are a visit to the Plug and Play Tech Center; opening of an office of the Latvian Business Association; meeting with officials from Google, Cisco and Juniper Networks; and visiting Stanford University. He also is expected to meet in the evening with San Francisco-area Latvia business people.

On July 16, Dombrovskis is scheduled to meet with the San Francisco-area Latvian community and open a new Latvian honorary consulate.

From July 17-18, the prime minister will be in Los Angeles, where he will meet with the local Latvian community; open an honorary consulate; meet with city and Orange County officials; meet with the Baltic-American Freedom League; attend a business seminar hosted by Allergan; address the World Affairs Council; and pay a visit to Warner Brothers Studios.

Dombrovskis then travels to Austin, Texas, where on July 19 he will meet with President William Powers of the University of Texas at Austin; visit with Gov. Rick Perry; and attend a business seminar.

From July 20-22, Dombrovskis and the trade delegation will be in New York. On the schedule are interviews with Bloomberg News and the Thompson Reuters agencies; meetings with IBM computer company officials and banking sector officials; and visits to the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. He also will talk about his book to the Council on Foreign Relations.