Lithuania is counting votes in the second round of elections, with the opposition trying to consolidate its victory
Counting of votes began in Lithuania on Sunday in a parliamentary election dominated by concerns about the cost of living and potential threats from Russia, with the opposition Social Democrats leading after the first round, according to Reuters.
The Baltic country of 2.9 million inhabitants has a hybrid voting system in which half of the parliament was elected by popular vote on October 13. The rest was decided on Sunday following a round of voting by districts between the first two candidates, a process that favors the big parties.
The Social Democrats (SD) won 20% of the popular vote earlier this month, becoming the largest party, ahead of the ruling Union of the Fatherland with 18% and the anti-system party Nemunas Dawn with 15% .
If the left-wing SD party succeeds in forming a government, it is expected to maintain Lithuania’s strong stance towards Russia and high defense spending.
According to NATO estimates, Lithuania will spend approximately 3% of GDP on the armed forces this year, being the sixth largest spender of the military alliance.
The polling stations closed at 20:00, the results being expected around 24:00, local time. Approximately 41.3% of eligible voters voted on Sunday, up from 38.7% in the run-off of the last parliamentary elections four years ago, according to official data.
“There will probably be some changes, but I want to believe that the direction will remain the same,” Marius Slepetis, a businessman, told Reuters after his youngest daughter cast her ballot.
The popularity of Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte’s centre-right tripartite coalition has been eroded by inflation that topped 20% two years ago, deteriorating public services and a widening gap between rich and poor.
After the first round, the SD leader, Vilija Blinkeviciute, declared that he is already in discussions regarding the formation of a majority coalition government with two other parties – For Lithuania and the Union of Farmers and Greens.
The SD made a pact with the opposition parties to support all the candidates in the second round in the contests against the candidates of Simonyte’s Homeland Union.
Domestic economic problems were at the center of attention during the election campaign, with SD promising to tackle rising inequality by raising taxes on wealthier Lithuanians to finance more spending on health and social care.
But national security is also a major concern in Lithuania, which sits on the eastern flank of NATO and the European Union and shares a border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and Belarus, a close ally of Moscow.
“For me, it is extremely important to keep calm and stop the war in Ukraine,” Mykolas Zvinys, 79, said before casting his vote on the outskirts of the capital, Vilnius.
Three-quarters of Lithuanians believe that Russia could attack their country in the near future, according to a Baltijos Tyrimai/ELTA poll conducted in May.
Source: www.mediafax.ro
