RIGA, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The largest party in the four-party ruling coalition in the Baltic state of Latvia on Friday urged early elections for the crisis-hit nation, which this week saw its worst riots since the fall of the Soviet Union.
Latvia, formerly the fastest-growing European Union nation, had to seek a 7.5 billion euro ($9.94 billion) rescue from the International Monetary Fund and EU last year as its credit-fuelled economy slumped during the credit crunch.
The People's Party, the largest of the four coalition parties which have been in office since elections in 2006, said the riots showed Latvia needed a government with wide support in the face of tough decisions on the ailing economy.
"In such circumstances early parliamentary elections are the only possibility to overcome the crisis and return the country to the path of stability and long term development," the party said in a statement.
It said parliament had quickly to draw up rules so that parliament could dissolve itself and have a spring election.
The president on Wednesday threatened to dissolve parliament if it did not make the constitutional changes he considered necessary to improve public confidence, including a mechanism for the people to be able to initiate early elections.
The riots on Tuesday shocked Latvia and came after protests in Greece and Iceland. They were followed by demonstrations in Bulgaria and Lithuania, with the financial crisis in some cases worsening already existing grievances against governments.
Latvia's government has been subject to months of criticism for economic mismanagement, corruption and nepotism.
The government has rejected all such charges and said Latvia was a victim of the global financial crisis which it was hard for any administration to foresee. (Reporting by Patrick Lannin; Editing by Jon Boyle)