Latvia's governing party takes lead in parliamentary elections

Latvia's governing party, the centrist United List led by Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs, is taking a large lead in the parliamentary elections, according to preliminary results released Sunday morning.

47-year-old Kulbergs, who is set to form a pro-Ukrainian coalition, speaks at the election night party as supporters celebrated the scale of the win, noting he wants to bring "considerable change" to the Baltic nation.

"I was not expecting such a result, honestly because we were not the favourite partner for the rest of the older parties which have been ruling the country because we want to bring change, we want to bring considerable change. And with this result, if we are nominated to continue, I think we can do that."

He says: "We have to focus on economics and defense, so people want a secure country, but they understand it's not possible to do that on borrowed money. We have to invest in our exports, so people want to see the future for their children. So, they want to see Latvia with prosperity and change."

Kulbergs also vows to maintain a hard line toward Moscow and says Russian cyber attacks are "expected" and that they have to fight back.

Central Election Commission data shows his party has secured 35.44% of the vote, followed by populist Latvia First at 13.22%.

Nearly 1,500 candidates are vying for 100 seats of the single-chamber Saeima for a four-year term.