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STORYLINE Latvians voted on Saturday in a general election in which a centre-left ethnic Russian party looked likely to win the most seats in Parliament for the first time in the country's 20 years of independence. Harmony Centre, which predominantly consists of ethnic Russians living in Latvia, almost certainly will not win a majority in the 100-seat legislature - nor would it be guaranteed a role in the next government. However, a strong showing would most likely allow the party to sit in a future coalition given the high rate of government turnover in the tiny Baltic state. The next government will immediately be tasked with making large budget cuts and tax hikes as part of an austerity programme put together by the International Monetary Fund and the EU. After four years of stellar growth fuelled by a borrow-and-spend boom, Latvia's economy nose-dived two years ago and has since shed some 25 percent of its size - one of the worst recessions in the world. Unemployment reached nearly 25 percent, and tens of thousands of young people fled for greener pastures in countries like England and Ireland. Only a 7.5 (b) billion euro (10.3 (b) billion US dollar) emergency bailout package put together by the IMF and the EU in December 2008 saved Latvia from bankruptcy. President Valdis Zatlers, who has the right to nominate the next prime minister, has said that one of the criteria in his selection will be a strict adherence to the bailout programme. He also said he would not allow any shifts in foreign policy, a clear hint that he would be reluctant to let Harmony Centre form the next government. After voting in Jurmala on Saturday, Zatlers said that the new government "needs stability". Many people fear that Harmony Centre would steer Latvia, a country of 2.3 (m) million people, away from NATO and the European Union - it joined both in 2004 - and toward Russia. Leaders of Harmony Centre, which controls the city council in the capital, Riga, deny the accusation, though they acknowledge they would like to recall Latvia's troops from the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan. Former President Vaira Vike-Freiberga said what Latvians needed was a "parliament that will be responsible to the needs of the country, not to those of, say, isolated oligarchs or certain business interests." Analysts agree that the probable third-place winner, the populist Greens and Farmers Union, will be the kingmaker in any future coalition as it will hold enough seats to give a majority to either Harmony Centre or Unity. Political scientist Andris Runcis said this election was the first time that Harmony Centre had tried to appeal directly to ethnic Latvian voters, but that it was "very difficult to predict" how much support the party would win. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/0f2c943fcd7fa821b3cc27eafd5b665d Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork