Neither Latvian President Valdis Zatlers nor his rival, former Prime Minister Andris Berzins, won the first round of the presidential election on Thursday.

The second round is to follow shortly at the 100-seat parliament, where one of the two competitors has to secure at least 51 votes to defeat the other.

According to Latvian law, the parliament elects the president, and a candidate needs more than 50 votes to win. The president is allowed to serve at most two terms.

Thursday's presidential election was complicated by Zatlers' proposal late last week to dissolve the parliament for its contempt of the judiciary. The Latvian Central Election Commission decided Monday to hold a referendum on July 23 on Zatlers' motion.

The date of the presidential election was set before Zatlers moved to dissolve the chamber.

Zatlers is the third president since the Baltic nation became independent in 1991, and his term expires July 7.