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Roundup: Social democrats lead, Liberals steal the show in Lithuania's municipal elections

Xinhua, March 3, 2015 Adjust font size:

Social democrats receive the most support and liberals are marking their biggest progress after counting the ballots on Monday in Lithuania's municipal and first direct mayoral elections.

According to the Central Electoral Commission, the voting activity in direct mayoral elections reached 47.17 percent, while activity in the elections to city and town municipal councils was 47.19 percent.

The ruling Lithuanian Social Democratic party has won 365 seats in the municipal councils, compared to 328 seats in the previous elections.

"We view the results as being OK but, of course, there is little joy in the large cities," Algirdas Butkevicius, the leader of the party and the Prime Minister, told BNS news agency.

None of the social democrat candidates have passed to the second round in the direct mayoral elections in Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipeda, the three largest cities of Lithuania.

The conservative party Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats came second with 249 mandates, compared to 247 seats in 2011.

In the third place, the liberals have shown the biggest progress with 216 mandates, compared to 98 seats won in the previous elections.

Eligijus Masiulis, the leader of Liberals party, considers the elections as the most successful in the party's history.

"Compared to the 2011 municipal elections, when we won 100 seats, the result has more than doubled," said Masiulis in a press conference.

"I see the trend that center-right wing parties have a good potential to receive more support from the voters and turn from opposition into ruling majority," he added.

The Labor party and the Order and Justice party, both from the ruling coalition, experienced substantial decrease in voters support. The Labor party won 148 seats, compared to previously held 165, and the number of mandates for the Order and Justice party decreased from 155 to 84.

Non partisan candidates have won around 15 percent of mandates. But according to Andrius Kubilius, the conservatives' leader, this doesn't necessarily mean an increased democracy in the municipal elections.

"As we have forecasted, the direct mayoral elections become an opportunity to reach a victory based on huge amount of money and populism. This trend is dangerous," said Kubilius in a press conference.

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.

FORMING COALITION

The results in Vilnius, Lithuanian capital, which attracted the most attention from media, show Arturas Zuokas, the current long-time mayor, and Remigijus Simasius, candidate from the liberal party, to have a battle in the second round.

Almost a third of voters expressed their support for Simasius, while Zuokas left the second.

Waldemar Tomashewski, the candidate from the coalition of the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania and the Russian alliance representing the Polish and Russian minorities, came third. He was widely believed to get into the second round.

With results on early Monday morning showing the clear victory in the first round, liberals have already agreed on forming ruling coalition with conservatives in Vilnius municipal council.

"We agreed with conservatives that the core of the coalition has already been formed," Simasius told journalists.

"We cooperate with all we want a wide coalition, except with Zuokas' party and Tomashewski's party," he said.

Meanwhile Zuokas said he expected the outcome and believes he will have better chances to present his vision of Vilnius before the second round.

"Everyone was against one, and it was hard to show the works and the future, as I received critics and offence most of the time," Zuokas was quoted as saying by National radio station LRT.

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 voters.

A total of 1,524 members of municipal councils including 60 mayors will be elected after the second round. Endit