Opposition Lithuanian Social Democratic Party Wins First Round of Election

The opposition Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) won the first round of the country’s parliamentary election held on Sunday.

The party, led by MEP Vilija Blinkevičiūtė, won more than 19% of the vote in the multi-seat constituencies and 18 seats in the 141-seat Seimas (Lithuanian parliament).

The Social Democrats victory marks a shift leftward in Lithuanian politics. Blinkevičiūtė has said she wants to deal with the problem of rising inequality in the country by increasing taxes on the wealthy. She has also spoken about putting more money into the Lithuanian health service.

But without a clear victory, the Social Democrats will have to form a coalition government with possibly two parties.

Second place went to the co-ruling conservatives, the Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats, led by Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, who won 17.9% of the vote and 17 seats. Dawn of Nemunas, a new right-wing led by Remigijus Žemaitaitis, took third place with 14.9% and 14 seats.

The required 5% electoral threshold was also exceeded by the “Union in the Name of Lithuania,” headed by Saulius Skvernelis (9.24% and 8 seats), the Liberal Movement led by the current Speaker of the Seimas, Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen (7.7% and 7 seats), and the Union of Farmers and Greens, led by Ramūnas Karbauskis (7.2% and 6 seats).

The final balance of power in the new Lithuanian parliament will be known in two weeks. On October 27, a second round of the election is due to be held in 63 single-member constituencies, where on Sunday none of the candidates managed to gain the required support.

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In Lithuania, deputies are elected in a mixed system: 71 in single-member constituencies according to the majority system and 70 in one multi-member constituency according to the proportional system.

In a multi-member constituency, the candidate who receives the most votes wins, provided that more than 20% of the voters in that constituency participate in the election. If no candidate meets this requirement, a second round is held two weeks later, with the two candidates who received the most votes in the first round facing off.