[Latvia’s new parliament elects Smiltens as Speaker] November 4th, Latvia’s 15th Parliament held its first meeting on the 3rd and elected Edwards Smiltens from the political party alliance “Joint List” as the new speaker. This is the second time Smiltens has served as the Speaker of Latvia. In the vote that day, Smiltens was elected speaker with 79 votes in favor. Latvia's 15th parliamentary election was held on October 3. The Central Election Commission announced the final results on the 16th. The "Joint List" won 41 seats out of a total of 100 seats, ranking first. The Latvian First Party followed with 17 seats, and the Sovereign Forces/New Latvians Alliance came in third with 15 seats. The National Alliance and the Progressive Party each won 10 seats, while the New Unionist Party won 7 seats. Smiltens was born in September 1984 and served as Speaker from November 2022 to September 2023. The Latvian Parliament implements a unicameral system. The Parliament is the country's highest legislative body and consists of 100 members with a four-year term. (CCTV News)