First Round of Parliamentary Elections in Lithuania: Social Democrats Secure Majority
On Monday morning, the votes in the first round of the elections to the Seimas of Lithuania were counted. The Social Democrats received the most votes. The ruling party of the current coalition, the Conservatives, managed to bypass the Nemunas Dawn and take second place, LRT reports.
The Social Democrats gained 19.36% of the vote in the multi-mandate district.
The Union of the Fatherland - Lithuanian Christian Democrats came in second with 17.96% of the vote.
The party considered to be populist, Nemunas Dawn, received 14.99% of the vote.
In fourth place with 9.24% was the Democratic Union ‘For the Name of Lithuania’, led by Saulius Skvernelis, the Prime Minister of Lithuania in 2016-2020.
It is followed by the Liberal Movement with 7.70%.
The greatest tension throughout the evening was at the headquarters of the Peasants and Greens Party: it was unclear until the last moment whether the party would enter the Seimas. It was only at 04.30 that it became clear that the Peasants had gained 7.02% and thus entered the Seimas.
Another political force on the verge of entering the Seimas was the Freedom Party. In the end, it won 4.5% of the vote, and in order to enter the parliament in a multi-mandate constituency, it needs to overcome the 5% threshold.
Lithuania held general parliamentary elections the day before to elect the next four-year parliament, the Seimas. The Central Election Commission counted the ballots. In total, 52.06% of voters came to vote.
From 8-10 October, early elections were held in hospitals, social care homes, military units and prisons, and from 11-12 October, those who voted at home could do so.
Around 2.4 million people are eligible to vote for 141 members of the Seimas for a four-year term in two rounds. In the first round, on 13 October, Lithuanians voted only at the place of registration, LRT reported.
70 lawmakers are elected on party lists. The remaining 71 deputies are elected in single-member constituencies.
The second round of elections will take place on 27 October, when most single-member districts will vote to choose between two leading candidates.
Earlier, on 20 September, the Supreme Election Commission of Lithuania decided to withdraw two candidates from the Seimas elections who failed to mention in their questionnaires cooperation with the Soviet secret service, the KGB. Last year, a scandal erupted in Lithuania after the publication of information that 20 former members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) were working in the Seimas. Only two of them indicated this in their questionnaires. Lithuanian journalists also found out that the current president, Gitanas Nausėda, was a member of the Communist Party, although he concealed it.