RIGA, June 5 (LETA) - Sociologists and political scientists should be heard to find out how to reduce the apathy and reluctance of those who did not participate in the local government elections, Kristine Berzina, the chairwoman of the Central Election Commission (CEC), said at a press conference after today's elections.

The low turnout is worrying, and sociologists and political scientists need to be heard about its reasons, Berzina said.

She pointed out that one of the reasons is disbelief of residents that their voice can change the situation. 

The head of the CEC pointed out that today's election process went by generally peaceful and no formal complaints had been received about irregularities that would affect the election results.

At the same time, a possible serious violation of the voting procedure was established in Jelgava voting station 203, when a voter noticed a small number of unstamped envelopes, the head of CEC indicated. She said that magnitude of this error will be seen after the opening of the voting boxes.

As reported, 328,697 voters or 34.07 percent of eligible voters cast their votes in this year's local government elections, according to the Central Election Commission's data.

This is the lowest voter turnout since the restoration of independence.