Lithuanians head to polls in runoff elections
People in Lithuania are heading to the polls to cast their ballots in runoff elections for a new parliament.
Polls opened in the European Union (EU) member country at 8:00 local time (0400 GMT) on Sunday and will close at 23:00 (1700 GMT).
Lithuania’s opposition seeks to ride on a wave of public dissatisfaction over low salaries and a resultant exodus of laborers to rise to power in the elections.
The first round of the polls, held on October 9, gave the conservative Homeland Union the lead with approximately 22 percent of the votes (22 seats).
The centrist Lithuanian Peasants and Green Union party (LPGU) won 21.53 percent (21 seats).
The ruling leftists finished third with just 14.42 percent (10 seats), a huge blow for Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius’s Social Democrats.
Three small political parties also won 20 seats, signaling complicated coalition talks in the days ahead.
The Sunday vote will determine the winners of the remaining 68 vacant seats of the 141-seat parliament.
Candidates have focused on wage growth and job creation in the Baltic country of 2.9 million people.
Since Lithuania joined the EU in 2004, an estimated 370,000 people have left the country to work elsewhere across the bloc.
Analysts say a new labor law making it easier to hire and fire employees, coupled with allegations of political corruption, have prompted the nation to turn their backs on Butkevicius, the prime minister.
Instead, Homeland Union leader Gabrielius Landsbergis has presented himself as the face of change, and the likely next prime minister.
The 34-year-old grandson of Lithuanian independence icon Vytautas Landsbergis has vowed to fight emigration by creating jobs, reforming education, boosting exports and foreign investment.
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