The center-left party LSDP is likely to win the parliamentary elections that concluded at 7 PM. According to preliminary results, the party received 22.95% of the vote. This means that the conservative TS-LKD option will lose power in Lithuania. Experts believe that the new government will not significantly change the priorities in domestic or international policy.
According to information an hour before the polls closed, voter turnout was 50.36%. Candidates from 15 parties and two coalitions are competing for 141 parliamentary seats. Lithuanians are distancing themselves from Russia, showing what they are installing on bridges. According to the preliminary results reported by the state television LRT, the Social Democrats won the elections with 22.95% support. The populist party „Nemunas Dawn” came in second with 17.55%, while the ruling conservative TS-LKD took third place with 13.18%.
The five-percent electoral threshold was also exceeded by the Democratic Union „For the Good of Lithuania” with 9.44%, the Farmers’ Party with 8.23%, and the Liberal Movement with 6.24%. In Lithuania, members of parliament are elected through a mixed system. Of the 141 seats, 71 will be chosen from single-member constituencies under a majority system, while 70 will come from a multi-member constituency under a proportional system.
Elections in Lithuania: Probable Change in the Ruling Party
According to AFP, it is likely that the Social Democratic Party (LSDP), which ruled Lithuania from 2012 to 2016, will win the first round. Pre-election polls indicated that their support hovered around 20-21%. The President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nauseda, who won the May presidential elections with the support of this party, unofficially expressed support for the LSDP. Recently, Nauseda met with leaders of all parliamentary parties, except the conservatives. „I voted for the authorities to cooperate, not work against each other, to solve the problems of the Lithuanian people,” Nauseda said after casting his vote.
The biggest loser in this year’s parliamentary elections is likely to be the currently ruling center-right party, the Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD). Public opinion polls showed the party had an average of 15% support. Despite probable changes in the top ranks of power, experts do not expect any significant changes in policy, especially regarding military security and cooperation with the EU and NATO. According to AFP analysts, the priority of the ruling party will continue to be close cooperation with the North Atlantic Alliance. Lithuanians are deeply concerned that they could become Russia’s next target if it wins in Ukraine. Almost all parties running in the elections emphasized during the campaign that defense spending, currently around 3% of GDP, would be maintained.
Lithuanian Parliamentary Elections: Success of the Populist „Nemunas Dawn” Party
According to pre-election polls, it is highly likely that the populist „Nemunas Dawn” party, led by former MP Remigijus Zemaitaitis, will also gain many seats in parliament. Zemaitaitis is described by his political opponents as anti-Semitic. Last year, he resigned from parliament due to allegations of inciting hatred. Zemaitaitis denied the accusations, explaining that he only criticized the Israeli government’s policy in the Gaza Strip. After the election, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gabrielius Landsbergis, commented on the leader of „Nemunas Dawn.” The conservative leader suggested that populists pose a serious problem for the future of the state. „I think we are facing not only a geopolitical threat but also an internal political threat,” he explained.
