Lithuanian Center-Right Party Victorious in First Round of Voting

Lithuanians elected representatives to 70 of a total 141 parliamentary seats last week. (Wikimedia Commons)

Lithuania’s center-right party, Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats (HU-LCD), declared victory after the first round of voting in the Lithuanian parliamentary election. On October 12, the party won 23 out of the 70 available seats (out of 141 total seats), appearing on track to defeat the current ruling coalition, which is composed of four parties.

The second-largest portion of seats went to the Lithuanian Farmers and Green Union, which earned 16 seats. The Labour Party followed with 9 seats while closely behind it were the Freedom Party, a liberal party established last year, and the Social Democratic Party, both with 8 seats.

In total, the vote allocated 70 seats out of the 141 in the Lithuanian parliament. The remaining 71 will be elected in the second round of voting. 

During the election, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic remained a major issue in the minds of the voters. Lithuanians have split opinions on the government’s response to the virus. 

Marius Sulga, who voted for the opposition party, stated, “I’m tired with all of these regulations, restrictions, and limitations that came with this cabinet long before the pandemic period. It is just not the kind of Lithuania that we dreamed about when we broke away from [the Soviet] occupation decades ago.”

Other Lithuanians believe that the government failed to provide for businesses during this time as unemployment jumped from 9 percent to more than 14 percent between February and October. 

Supporters of the current government point out that Lithuania’s total case count and death toll is much less than in other European countries. As of October 12, Lithuania has only seen 5,963 cases and a little over 100 deaths from COVID-19. However, virus cases have spiked in Lithuania in the past few weeks. 

The Lithuanian elections are important internationally as well. Notably, the country has been outspoken in its support of the protests in Belarus, encouraging the European Union and the United States to strongly oppose Lukashenko. Furthermore, Lithuania  granted asylum to Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the Belarusian opposition leader.  

Lithuania’s foreign minister, Linas Antanas Linkevičius, has largely dictated Lithuania’s foreign policy in recent years. In spite of his widespread popularity, he is in danger of losing his position in the cabinet in the upcoming election, which could slow Lithuania’s foreign policy expansion. Regardless of the respective political party, however, the next foreign minister is likely to follow in his footsteps with a focus on Russia, cyber threats, and the unrest in Belarus.

Although the center-right appears to be on track to winning a majority of the votes and forming a coalition, the future of Lithuania’s parliament remains uncertain until October 25, when the rest of the seats will be allocated.