Conservatives in narrow lead over Peasants in 1st round of Seimas elections

The conservative Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) have a lead of 1,441 votes over the Peasant and Green Union after the first round of the parliamentary elections.

The Labour Party, a member of the outgoing ruling coalition, emerged as the biggest loser in the polls, losing around 200,000 votes compared with the 2012 elections.

The conservatives won 20 of the 70 seats with 21.66 percent of the national vote. The party received a total of 275,365 votes in the multi-member constituency, some 70,000 more than four years ago.

The Peasant and Green Union are in second place with 21.55 percent of the vote and 19 mandates. The total number of votes for the party soared by 220,000 compared with the 2012 elections to 273,924 votes.

The ruling Social Democrats trail in third place with 14.43 percent of the vote and 13 seats. The party took 183,479 votes in last Sunday’s elections, losing support from about 69,000 voters over the past four years.

The opposition Liberal Movement won 9.04 percent of the vote and eight seats in the Seimas. Despite a political corruption scandal involving its former leader, Eligijus Masiulis, the party lost a mere 3,000 votes compared with the 2012 elections.

The Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania – Christian Families Alliance came fourth with 5.49 percent of the vote and 5 seats. The party lost about 10,000 votes in the multi-national constituency compared with the previous elections.

The Order and Justice Party also took 5 seats with 5.33 percent of the vote. The party received about 30,000 fewer votes than in 2012.

The Labour Party mustered a mere 4.69 percent of the national vote, falling short of the necessary five percent to enter the parliament.

Three candidates won an outright majority of votes in the first round of elections in single-member constituencies. The remaining 68 seats will be decided in run-off elections on October 23.