RIGA, Latvia – Challenger Andris Berzins won Latvia’s presidential election Thursday, defeating incumbent Valdis Zatlers who damaged his chances of re-election by calling for the dissolution of Parliament.
Berzins, a 66-year-old ex-banker turned lawmaker, won with a simple majority of 53 votes in the second round of voting in the 100-seat Parliament. The first round of voting earlier Thursday failed to produce a winner.
Zatlers, 56, had been widely expected to win the vote until he accused lawmakers on Saturday of being soft on corruption and called a referendum on whether to dissolve Parliament.
His move came in response to Parliament blocking the country’s anti-corruption bureau from searching the home of a powerful local politician who is currently the centre of a major graft investigation.
Zatlers’ announcement plunged Latvia into political turmoil at a time when it’s recovering from a near-economic collapse and struggling to meet the conditions of a €7.5 billion ($10.7 billion) loan from the International Monetary Fund and European Union.
Berzins is currently a lawmaker for the Greens and Farmers’ Union, which is part of the coalition government. He is a multi-millionaire former bank president with numerous land holdings around the country and extensive political experience.
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