V. Andriukaitis’ bid for presidency received the backing of almost 30 thousand people by Friday.
More than 20 thousand citizens provided their signatures on paper, while another 9.5 thousand – electronically, Lithuanian Social Democratic Party executive secretary Linas Jonauskas states.
“We gathered the prerequisite number of signatures, however we will continue to gather them. We care about interacting with people, hearing their expectations, thus we will continue gathering signatures for a week or two. Furthermore there are still those, who have not had time to sign, thus we will grant everyone the opportunity to do so – in the central headquarters and regional branches,” L. Jonauskas says.
V. Andriukaitis was nominated as presidential candidate by the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party. Currently he is the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety.
The first to gather 20 thousand signatures electronically was Ingrida Šimonytė. Gitanas Nausėda has also gathered the prerequisite number of signatures. Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis, held one of the favourites in the elections, is currently lagging behind his competitors in number of gathered signatures.
Individuals seeking the post of president can gather signatures up to march 28.
The presidential elections are to be held on May 12.