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Rinkevics started as a top civil servant in the Defense Ministry and went on to become chief of staff for then-President Valdis Zatlers.

Latvia’s former president, Valdis Zatlers, forced Saturday’s elections by taking the rare step of dissolving parliament this summer when lawmakers refused to grant prosecutors permission to investigate possible corruption by a businessman who is a member of parliament.

Mr. Zatlers, whose newly formed Reform Party came in second in the election, has accused a small cadre of so-called oligarchs of wielding undo influence over Latvian politics.

An upstart party formed by former President Valdis Zatlers was in second place with 20.5 percent, while Unity, the senior partner in the current ruling center-right coalition, was third with 18.2 percent, a sharp decrease from the 31.2 percent it amassed one year ago in its election victory.

The referendum was held after Zatlers in May proposed dissolving the legislature for lawmakers' interference in a major probe into high-level corruption.