The first round of elections to the Sejm has begun in Lithuania. 15 parties and two coalitions are fighting for 141 seats. Among the 1.7 thousand candidates, there are nearly 100 Poles who are Lithuanian citizens. Observers emphasize that regardless of whether the opposition left or the currently ruling center-right wins, the state's policy course will be maintained.
Polling stations are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. (6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Polish time). According to the Central Electoral Commission, the preliminary voting results will be known on Sunday before midnight. On Lithuania no tests are organized exit poll.
Among the 1.7 thousand candidates there are almost 100 Poles and Lithuanian citizens. Most of them run from the list of the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania – Association of Christian Families (AWPL-ZChR). This time there are also an exceptionally large number of Poles on the lists of the so-called Lithuanian parties.
Nearly 2.4 million citizens are entitled to vote, 4 percent (almost 100,000 people) less than in the previous parliamentary elections in 2020.
Elections in Lithuania
The last pre-election polls indicate that the opposition Lithuanian Social Democratic Party will win the most votes, about 20 percent. The currently co-governing conservative party, the Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats, can count on about 15 percent of the votes, and the Democratic Union “In the Name of Lithuania” – on 12.5 percent. The polls also give a chance to enter the Sejm for the new party Świt nad Niemnem (about 10%), the Union of Farmers and Greens (about 10%) and the currently co-ruling Liberal Movement (over 5%).
According to Lauras Bielinis, a political scientist from Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, a coalition of social democrats supported by President Gitanas Nauseda, the Union “In the Name of Lithuania” and the Liberal Movement would ensure stability and peace for the state. Publicist Alexander Radchenko does not rule out the possibility of conservatives remaining in power, although – as he emphasizes – “in Lithuania, conservatives have never ruled for two terms in a row.” – I don't think anyone attempts to predict what the result will be on Sunday and what the final distribution of seats will be in the next Sejm in two weeks – admitted Radczenko.
Electoral system in Lithuania
In Lithuania, deputies are elected in a mixed system: 71 in single-member constituencies according to the majority electoral system, and 70 – in one multi-member constituency according to the proportional electoral system.
According to the law, elections in a multi-member constituency are valid if more than 25% of the electorate took part in them. voters. In a single-member district, the candidate who receives more than half of the votes is considered elected. In districts where no candidate obtained a majority, a second round of elections is organized two weeks later. The two candidates with the highest number of votes in the first round take part in it.
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