Social Democratic Party wins Lithuania's parliamentary runoff

Vilnius, Oct 29 (IANS) Lithuania's opposition Social Democratic Party (LSDP) won the parliamentary election runoff, according to preliminary results of the Central Electoral Commission.

In the first round two weeks ago, LSDP won 20 seats in the Seimas, Lithuania's parliament, and in the second round held on Sunday, the party secured 32 single-mandate constituencies, reports Xinhua news agency.

The ruling Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats came second in the elections and will provisionally have a faction of 28 members in the Seimas.

The Dawn of Nemunas will have 20 seats, followed by the Union of Democrats "For Lithuania" (DSVL) with 14. The Liberal Movement of the Republic of Lithuania will have 12 seats in the Seimas and the Lithuanian Peasant Popular Union (LVZS) eight.

"We, the Social Democrats, have achieved a historic victory, something we probably haven't seen in decades," LSDP leader Vilija Blinkeviciute told Baltic News Service (BNS) on Monday.

Blinkeviciute said negotiations on the formation of a coalition with both DSVL and LVZS will continue. The praesidium of LSDP will make the final decision on the governing coalition and then the council, she said, adding that the praesidium's meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, while the council plans to vote next week.

If the coalition of the three parties is formed, they will become the ruling majority, with 74 out of 141 seats in the Seimas.

Gabrielius Landsbergis, chairman of TS-LKD, announced at a press conference on Monday that he is stepping down as the party's leader after the Seimas elections. He told local media that he sees outgoing Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte as the party's next leader.

Landsbergis also announced that he will not serve in the next Seimas, which means that the mandate will go to the next politician on the party's list in the multi-member constituency.

Around 41.3 per cent of voters cast ballots in the second round, data from the Central Electoral Commission showed on Sunday night after the polls closed.

The turnout is higher than in the runoff round of parliamentary elections in 2020 but below this year's first-round turnout.

In 2020, about 39.24 per cent of voters cast ballots in the second round, while a fortnight ago, in this year's first-round election, the turnout reached 52.18 per cent.

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