Politics Social Democrats win parliamentary election in Lithuania
Lithuania is on the brink of a change of power. The Social Democrats have become the strongest political force in the second round of parliamentary elections. The opposition party is expected to hold 52 of the 141 seats in the parliament of the Baltic EU and NATO country after the second round of elections. This was announced by the election commission in Vilnius on Monday night after almost all constituencies had been counted. The Social Democrats are now aiming to form a center-left coalition with two other opposition parties.
28.10.2024, 01:04
28.10.2024, 01:05
SDA
The ruling conservative Fatherland Union of Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte will be the second strongest force with 28 seats. Its two liberal coalition partners also lost - one of them even missed out on entering parliament altogether. After the results were announced, Fatherland Union leader Gabrielius Landsbergis conceded his party's defeat and congratulated the Social Democrats.
Social Democrats want change
"I am very grateful to the Lithuanian people for voting so actively for us, the Social Democrats," said party leader and former MEP Vilija Blinkeviciute at the election party, where she was greeted with applause and shouts of "Thank you!". "The election results have shown that the people of Lithuania, no matter where they live - in big cities, small towns or villages - want change, they need a completely different government."
A change of government in Lithuania, which borders the Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad and Moscow's wartime ally Belarus, would primarily lead to domestic and socio-political changes. In terms of foreign and security policy, the Baltic state is likely to remain clearly in line with the EU and NATO and maintain its resolute support for Ukraine.
Election success foreshadowed
The Social Democrats' possible coalition partners are the For Lithuania party (14 seats) and the Union of Farmers and Greens (8 seats). The three-party coalition would achieve a narrow majority in parliament, in which the newly founded populist party Dawn of Nemunas (20 seats) is also represented. In addition, several smaller parties and independent candidates also managed to gain seats in the Seimas parliament. Voter turnout was a good 41 percent.
Even after the polls and the first round of voting two weeks ago, a success for the Social Democrats was considered likely. At that time, 70 seats were allocated according to proportional representation and eight direct mandates; the remaining 63 mandates were decided in run-off elections on Sunday.
