"This system will be used for municipal and European parliamentary elections," Latvia's e-government minister Ina Gulde told AFP.
"It is meant to give an extra opportunity to voters to express their opinions," she said.
"Sixty-four percent of Latvians use the Internet. The younger generation, who are usually politically inactive, could in particular benefit from this system," she added.
The e-voting system should be up and running by March 2009, when Latvia's 1.45-million-strong electorate is due to go to the polls in municipal elections.
Elections to the European Parliament, meanwhile, are scheduled in Latvia and across the rest of the 27-nation EU in June 2009.
Neighboring Estonia made history in March when it held the world's first national e-vote in parliamentary elections.
Around 30,000 people, or three percent of the Estonia's 940,000 eligible voters, opted for the Internet ballot.
Lithuania has said it wants its 2.7 million voters to have a chance to cast Internet ballots in parliamentary elections next year.
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Quelle/Source: Inquirer, 04.12.2007
