First direct mayoral elections kick off in Lithuania

Municipal elections start in Lithuania on Sunday with voters getting the first chance to elect mayors directly.

Around 15,000 candidates to city and town municipal councils and 400 candidates to the mayors are waiting to hear the will of 2.54 million Lithuanians eligible to vote. A total of 1,524 members of municipal councils, including 60 mayors, will be elected during the ballot.

During the early voting earlier this week, 4.98 percent of voters expressed their will, according to the data from the Central Electoral Commission, compared with 3.84 percent in 2011.

The second round of mayoral elections will be held after two weeks in those municipalities where winners were unable to receive support from more than half of the voters.

Direct mayoral elections are being held in Lithuania for the first time. The Seimas, the Lithuanian Parliament, backed the idea of direct elections last year seeking to increase responsibility of mayors and improve voting activity in municipal elections. Previously, mayors were elected by municipal councils.

In conjunction with municipal and direct mayoral elections, the elections of a member of the Seimas are being held in Zirmunai, the district of capital Vilnius. A many as 12 candidates are seeking a parliamentary seat after Vytenis Andriukaitis, the social democrat MP and former health minister, went to the European Commission to serve as the Commissioner for Heath and Food Safety. Endi