Latvia

On 28 May 2026 the Saeima approved, by 66 votes to 25, a government led by Andris Kulbergs of the United List, after Evika Siliņa resigned on 14 May. The coalition comprises the United List, the National Alliance, New Unity and the Union of Greens and Farmers; Nauris Puntulis of the National Alliance became Minister of Culture.

In the Saeima election of 3 October 2026, provisional results gave the United List 41 of 100 seats, followed by Latvia First with 17 and Sovereign Power/Young Latvians with 15; the National Alliance and the Progressives won 10 each and New Unity 7. The Union of Greens and Farmers fell below the threshold, and turnout was a record low of 51.79 per cent. The Central Election Commission had not yet confirmed the results. President Edgars Rinkēvičs said on 6 October that Kulbergs had a broad mandate to form the next government.

Reporters Without Borders ranks Latvia 17th of 180 in its 2026 World Press Freedom Index with a score of 81.00, against 15th and 81.82 in 2025, and notes that the media regulator has been accused of lacking independence from the government. On 1 June 2026 the chair of the regulator, the National Electronic Mass Media Council (NEPLP), Ivars Āboliņš, announced that he would leave to become parliamentary secretary at the Ministry of Culture.

On 11 June 2026 the Saeima adopted amendments to the Press and Other Mass Media Act implementing provisions of the European Media Freedom Act. In force since 27 June, the amendments assign NEPLP responsibility for monitoring state advertising expenditure and assessing media market concentrations, with the latter provisions applying from 1 November. Earlier proposals to restrict publication of information designated for internal use by public authorities had drawn objections from the Latvian Journalists’ Association and were left out of the January government package. The European Commission’s 2026 rule of law chapter reports no cases of physical violence against journalists since its 2025 report, but notes a deterioration in online safety, particularly for female journalists.

State Media Monitor maps one Latvian outlet: Latvian Public Media (LSM), classified Independent State Funded and State Managed (ISFM). Established through the merger of Latvijas Televīzija and Latvijas Radio, LSM was entered in the Commercial Register in January 2025. The 2026 state budget provides EUR 61 million, with the same amount planned for 2027 and 2028.

LSM is wholly state-owned, with the Public Electronic Mass Media Council (SEPLP) exercising shareholder functions and appointing its Management Board and editor-in-chief. SEPLP’s three members are confirmed by the Saeima. The Saeima rejected two civil-society nominees in 2025, including Jānis Siksnis, and a National Alliance and United List bill to remove the civil-society seat.

LSM’s Russian-language radio station, LR4, was closed from 1 January 2026. On 30 March 2026 the Constitutional Court ruled that provisions requiring public media to produce content in minority languages were incompatible with the Constitution, postponing their invalidation until 1 May 2027. On 1 October 2026 the Saeima adopted amendments, not yet promulgated by 12 October and due to take effect on 1 January 2027, that allow content in self-sufficient minority languages only in emergencies, during a state of emergency or to refute false information that threatens democracy.

Over coverage of the storms of 22–23 August 2026, the board issued formal reprimands to the editor-in-chief, Anita Brauna, and the Latvijas Radio news chief editor. A Norstat survey for SEPLP found that 47 per cent of respondents fully or partly trusted LSM.

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