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Latvian Association of Regions

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Latvian Association of Regions
Latvijas Reģionu apvienība
AbbreviationLRA
LeaderEdvards Smiltēns
FounderMārtiņš Bondars
Founded13 March 2014; 10 years ago (13 March 2014) (alliance)
29 August 2020; 4 years ago (29 August 2020) (party)
Merger ofRegional Alliance
For Ogre Municipality
HeadquartersRiga, Mazā Smilšu iela 12–3, LV-1050
Membership (2019)Increase 2,000 [1]
IdeologyRegionalism[2]
Political positionCentre[2][3][4]
National affiliationUnited List
Colours  Maroon
  Navy blue
Saeima
7 / 100
European Parliament
0 / 8
Riga City Council
2 / 60
Mayors
7 / 43
Website
apvieniba.lv

The Latvian Association of Regions or Latvian Regional Alliance (Latvian: Latvijas Reģionu apvienība, LRA) is a centrist[2][3][4] political party in Latvia.

It was founded as an alliance on 13 March 2014 and is headed by former Unity MP Edvards Smiltēns.

History

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The alliance won 8 seats in the Saeima at the 2014 parliamentary election.[5] It contested the elections as a political alliance of several smaller regionalist parties, including the Regional Alliance [lv], the LSDSP, the Christian Democratic Union and the Vidzeme Party [lv]. The first leader of the LRA was Mārtiņš Bondars until stepping down and leaving the alliance in 2017, after which he was succeeded by Nellija Kleinberga.[6][7]

In the lead up to the 2018 elections, the LSDSP and the Christian Democrats left the alliance, which eventually fell just short of the 5% barrier at the polls. An even closer result came in the 2019 European Parliament elections, where the LRA lacked 0.02 percent to reach the minimum threshold of votes needed for gaining a seat.

On 22 August 2020, two of the parties making up the alliance – For Ogre Municipality (Latvian: Ogres novadam) and the Regional Alliance voted to reorganize LRA into a single political party. The other members – the Vidzeme Party and three NGOs voted to continue as affiliated cooperation partners under the LRA banner.[8]

In May 2022 the LRA formed a united list for the 2022 Saeima elections together with the Latvian Green Party (former ZZS member), the Liepāja Party (former ZZS partner) and an upcoming political NGO led by Liepāja construction contractor Uldis Pīlēns.[9] The interim name of the ticket was reported as "United List of Latvia" or "Latvia United List" (Latvian: Latvijas apvienotais saraksts) (previously "Power of Regions" (Reģionu spēks) was suggested).[10][11] The NGO led by Pīlēns scheduled its founding event for July 1st and announced that it would be called Apvienotais Latvijas saraksts or the United List.[12]

Election results

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Legislative elections

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Election Party leader Performance Rank Government
Votes % ± pp Seats +/–
2014 Mārtiņš Bondars 60,812 6.71 New
8 / 100
 New 5th Opposition
2018 Edvards Smiltēns 35,018 4.17 Decrease 2.54
0 / 100
 Decrease 8 Decrease 8th Extra-parliamentary
2022[a] 100,631 11.14 Increase 6.97
7 / 100
 Increase 7 Increase 3rd Coalition (2022-2023)
Opposition (2023-)
  1. ^ Run as part of United List, coalition of LRA, LZP and LP.

European Parliament elections

[edit]
Election List leader Votes % Seats +/– EP Group
2014 Mārtiņš Bondars 11,035 2.5 (#3)
0 / 8
 New –
2019 Edvards Smiltēns 23,581 5.01 (#7)
0 / 8
 Steady 0
2024[a] Reinis Pozņaks 42,551 8.27 (#4)
0 / 9
 Steady 0
  1. ^ The United List list won 1 seat, that went to an independent

References

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  1. ^ "Latvijas Reģionu Apvienība. Stipri reģioni. Stipra Latvija. Apvieniba.lv - Apvieniba.lv - Latvijas Reģionu Apvienības partijas oficiālā mājas lapa" (in Latvian). Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Nordsieck, Wolfram (2018). "Latvia". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  3. ^ a b University College London (8 October 2014). "Latvia's elections: Can there be harmony without Harmony?". UCL SSEES Research Blog. University College London. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Par mums - Latvijas Reģionu Apvienība".
  5. ^ "12.Saeimas vēlēšanas".
  6. ^ "Leading politician quits Regional Alliance". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. March 20, 2018. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  7. ^ "Leader of Latvian Association of Regions announces his departure". Baltic News Network. March 20, 2018. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  8. ^ Anstrate, Vita (2020-08-22). "Latvijas Reģionu apvienība pārtapusi partijā" [The Latvian Association of Regions has become a party]. www.lsm.lv (in Latvian). Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  9. ^ "Task of LRA, LZP and Liepāja Party is to change Latvia's status as weakest link of Baltic chain - Pīlēns". LETA. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
  10. ^ "Uldis Pīlēns wants to save Latvia with the formula that saved Liepāja 25 years ago". neatkariga.com. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
  11. ^ "Latvian Green Party leaves Union of Greens and Parties". Baltic News Network - News from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia. 2022-06-13. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
  12. ^ "Piektdien dibinās Pīlēna iniciēto biedrību "Apvienotais Latvijas saraksts"". liepajniekiem.lv (in Latvian). Retrieved 2022-06-29.
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