RIGA, July 1 (LETA) - Baiba Braze, Evika Silina, Rihards Kozlovskis, Edmunds Jurevics and Inga Berzina will head New Unity's electoral lists in this year's Saeima elections.

On Wednesday, New Unity announced its lead candidates for the 15th Saeima elections in all five electoral districts. Foreign Minister Braze will head the New Unity ticket in the Riga electoral district, followed by former finance minister Arvils Aseradens, who is the party's candidate for prime minister, Inese Libina-Egnere, Andrejs Judins, and Zanda Kalnina-Lukasevica. Also running on this list are Beata Jonite, head of the advocacy department at Center Marta, and Nikola Kristopane, daughter of MEP Vilis Kristopans from the Latvia First (LPV) party.

The Latgale list will be headed by Transport Minister Kozlovskis, followed by Alina Gendele, Anna Rancane, Sergejs Maksimovs, and Jaroslavs Volkovs. The Kurzeme list will be led by Berzina, Girts Valdis Kristovskis, Janis Neimanis, Eva Karklina, and Karlis Strautins.

Silina, Health Minister Hosams Abu Meri, Ainars Latkovskis, Raimonds Cudars, and Janis Skrastins will run as lead candidates in the Vidzeme electoral district.

The New Unity list in Zemgale will be led by Jurevics, Martins Limanskis, Martins Felss, Martins Degis, and Janis Reirs.

New Unity's candidate for prime minister will be former finance minister and MP Arvils Aseradens. According to Aseradens, New Unity is ready to work with "all democratic and statesmanlike parties" and will not enter into a coalition with populist and pro-Russia political forces.

"Our duty in these elections is to work together with other statesmanlike parties to protect Latvian politics from the rising tide of populism," Aseradens said.

New Unity has declared national security as its most important priority, pledging to guarantee defense funding at 5 percent of GDP while also developing a permanent NATO presence in Latvia. The New Unity platform also calls for strengthening Latvia's eastern border, increasing the capacity of internal security services, and providing additional support to the National Guard.

In the economic sphere, New Unity aims to achieve at least 3.5 percent annual GDP growth and to increase the volume of investment to over 30 percent of GDP. The party promises to implement a fiscally responsible budget policy, keeping the country's external debt below 55 percent of GDP. The program also calls for raising the minimum wage and non-taxable minimum income, as well as reducing the administrative burden on businesses and promoting investment in several sectors.

In the area of healthcare, New Unity commits to ensuring funding of at least 6 percent of GDP. The program also promises the development of high-quality education, fair compensation for teachers, the strengthening of the use of the state language, as well as support for regional development and a family-friendly environment. At the same time, the party plans to modernize public administration, placing greater emphasis on achievable and measurable results.

New Unity will submit its official electoral lists and platform to the Central Election Commission on July 2.

The submission of candidate lists for the 15th Saeima elections began on June 20 and will end on July 5. The 15th Saeima elections are scheduled for early October.