Saeima

The Saeima is the parliament of Latvia.

It is a unicameral parliament consisting of 100 members of parliament. The Saeima is elected in proportional elections, with seats allocated to political parties which gain at least 5% of popular vote. Elections are held once every 4 years, on the first Saturday of October. The most recent elections were held in October 2002.

The president of Latvia can dismiss the Saiema and request early elections. The procedure for dismissing it is, however, quite dangerous and no president of Latvia has ever attempted to dismiss it.

The name of the Latvian parliament is not to be confused with:

• Seimas - the name of the parliament in Lithuania.
• Sejm - the name of the lower house of parliament in Poland.

External links

• Saeima - official website (in Latvian)
• Central Election Committee - results of Saeima elections, starting from 1993.