RIGA, June 16 (LETA) - In Latvia's recent local elections, which took place on June 5, 276 voters in foreign countries sent their ballots to the Central Election Commission by mail, and 144 of these votes were received on time, before vote counting started, Laura Zaharova, a representative of the Central Election Commission, told LETA.

These were the first elections in which voters in foreign countries had the opportunity to register for voting by mail from abroad. 

Twelve voters who had initially planned to vote by mail from foreign countries eventually arrived in Latvia and cast their ballots at polling stations. 

The right to vote by mail was given to voters who were outside Latvia on the day of the elections and who had registered a  place of residence in one of Latvia's municipalities at least 90 days prior to the elections or they owned a property in Latvia. 

Latvia's local elections took place in 40 constituencies. In all, 327,950 people, or 34.01 percent of the eligible voters, took part in the elections.