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Roundup: First voting results point to new mayors in two Lithuanian largest cities

Xinhua, March 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

Vilnius and Kaunas, two largest Lithuanian cities, are likely to replace their mayors, while port city Klaipeda to maintain the incumbent head of the city, preliminary results from the run-off of the first direct mayoral elections showed on Sunday.

Remigijus Simasius, representing Liberals' Movement of Lithuania, was ahead of Arturas Zuokas, the incumbent mayor and the leader of liberal party Lithuanian Freedom Union. Simasius secured about 61 percent of voters' support, in comparison to 38 percent in favor of Zuokas. The figures are based on results with votes from 99 out of 151 voting districts in Vilnius having been counted.

Simasius said his party will first of all aim to form a coalition in the Vilnius City Municipality with the conservatives, according to BNS news agency.

He also said he already had a few candidates to head the municipality's administration.

In Kaunas, the second largest Lithuanian city, local businessman Visvaldas Matijosaitis outperformed the incumbent mayor Andrius Kupcinskas from the conservative Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats.

Around 64 percent of Kaunas residents voted for Matijosaitis, with Kupcinskas lagging behind with about 36 percent support. These results were announced after votes were counted in 74 out of 91 voting stations in Kaunas.

Meanwhile, in the port city of Klaipeda, incumbent mayor Vytautas Grubliauskas secured his position against rival Agne Bilotaite from Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats.

Almost 76 percent of voters expressed their support to the incumbent mayor in Klaipeda, while Bilotaite gathered 24 percent of support after votes were counted in all of 54 voting stations in the port city. Endit