No changes are planned for the ballots in the upcoming Saeima elections 0 8

Today, a report from the Central Election Commission on the work done and plans for preparing and conducting the elections to the Saeima was heard at the commission meeting.

Zviēdris reported that preparations for the Saeima elections are proceeding as planned. Among the upcoming tasks, he noted that starting in February next year, the development of amendments to the electoral platform is planned, and from March, testing of the improved IT platform for the elections will begin.

In response to questions from deputies, Zviēdris confirmed what had been previously announced: in the upcoming Saeima elections next year, municipal election commissions will be able to decide for themselves whether to use scanning for counting votes or to conduct it manually. In this year's municipal elections, the vote scanning system worked unreliably, causing delays and confusion.

No changes to the ballots are planned for next year's elections, added the head of the CEC.

He explained that work is currently underway to improve communication with municipal election commissions to eliminate unclear issues that arose in past elections, such as those related to vote counting.

It was previously reported that according to current estimates, the Saeima elections next year will cost at least 9.8 million euros. Including the main budget of the institution, which is just over 800,000 euros, the total budget of the CEC for 2026 is planned to be 10.65 million euros.

Zviēdris reported that compared to previous elections, additional funding has been allocated to ensure early voting and the transfer of votes for storage at all polling stations five days before the elections.

In the next two years, the CEC budget will be 816,460 euros.

The elections to the Saeima will take place in early October next year.