Latvian lawmakers to vote for president in secret ballot amid Russia tensions

RIGA, Latvia – The Ukraine crisis will be top of the agenda as Latvia's Parliament votes for a new president.

Four candidates have put their names forward in a bid to win a four-year term in the vote Wednesday, with regional security a big talking point.

The former Soviet republic has been put on edge by Russia's intervention in Ukraine and welcomed a build-up of NATO forces in the region amid what they see as a threat from Moscow.

Many political analysts consider current Latvian Defense Minister Raimonds Vejonis and Egils Levits, a judge in the European Court of Justice, as the front-runners.

The other candidates are former basketball star and banker Martins Bondars and Sergejs Dolgopolovs, a member of a pro-Russia party with support from Latvia's Russian minority.