Tautas Saskaņas Partija (abbreviated TSP, English: People's Harmony Party or National Harmony Party) is a political party in Latvia. A political party is an organization that seeks to attain political power within a government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns. ...

The roots of Tautas Saskaņas Partija are in the moderate wing of Tautas Fronte, the Latvian independence movement of late 1980s and early 1990s. Its leader, Jānis Jurkāns, was the first minister of foreign affairs of Latvia from 1990 to 1992, until having to leave the government for too moderate positions in relations with Russia. He, together, with other activists, founded the Saskaņa Latvijai - Atdzimšana Tautsaimniecībai alliance which won 13 seats (out of 100) in 1993 parliamentary election. The alliance split in 1994 into two parts and one of the parts became Tautas Saskaņas Partija. Jānis Jurkāns had been its leader since then till 2005, when he resigned. Party's chairman is now Jānis Urbanovičs. The Popular Front of Latvia (Latvijas Tautas Fronte in Latvian) was a political organization in Latvia in late 1980s and early 1990s which lead Latvia to its independence from the Soviet Union. ... Elections for 5th Saeima, the parliament of Latvia were held on June 5 and June 6, 1993. ...

From its beginning, Tautas Saskaņas Partija was popular with ethnically Russian voters, due to its very moderate positions on citizenship and language issues. Unlike the other parties popular with Russians, it also had a considerable amount of ethnic Latvians in its leadership and was attempting to bridge the gap between the two communities. It won 6 seats in 1995 parliamentary election. In 1998, it joined with two other predominantly Russian parties, Latvian Socialist Party and Līdztiesība (Equal Rights) which held more radical pro-Russian positions. This step seriously damaged the support of Tautas Saskaņas Partija among ethnic Latvians, turning in into a party with predominantly Russian support. The three parties founded the Par Cilvēka Tiesībām Vienotā Latvijā (For Human Rights in United Latvia) alliance. At the last legislative elections, 5 october 2002, the alliance won 18.9 % of popular vote and 25 out of 100 seats. In 2003, Tautas Saskaņas Partija left the alliance. At the elections of European Parliament in 2004 it didn't get any place, and in 2005 elections, lost its representation in Riga City council. In 2005 party entered alliance "Centre of Harmony". Elections for 6th Saeima, the parliament of Latvia were held on September 30 and October 1, 1995. ... The Latvian Socialist Party (Latvian: Latvijas Socialistiska Partija) was formed in 1994 in response to the banning of the communist party after the collapse of the Soviet Union. ... Par CilvÄ“ka TiesÄ«bām Vienotā Latvijā (abbreviated PCTVL, For Human Rights in United Latvia) is an alliance of several political parties in Latvia, supported mainly by Russian-speaking Latvians. ... A legislature is a governmental deliberative body with the power to adopt laws. ... Elections in Latvia gives information on election and election results in Latvia. ...

The current Tautas Saskaņas Partija defines itself as a social democratic party. It supports further liberalization of the citizenship law by granting an automatic citizenship to all noncitizens which have lived in Latvia for at least 10 years. (The present law allows most of them to apply via naturalization process but does not grant an automatic citizenship.) It also supports expanding education in minority languages (mainly, Russian). Social democracy is a political ideology emerging in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from supporters of Marxism who believed that the transition to a socialist society could be achieved through democratic evolutionary rather than revolutionary means. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards and appeal to a wider international audience, this article may require cleanup. ...

External link

• Party website