News Analysis: Lithuanian mayoral elections reflect new political trends

The first direct mayoral elections in Lithuania ended up with the mayors of the two largest cities being replaced and main traditional parties being defeated in their traditional strongholds, as per the results announced Monday by Central Electoral Commission (CEC).

"I think the elections showed that democratic principles exist and work," Lauras Bielinis, professor at Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, was quoted as saying by local news website vz.lt.

"The recent elections were held at a good competitive level," he added.

OVERALL RESULTS

In the capital city of Vilnius, the Liberal Movement's Remigijus Simasius won the mayoral post with 62.71 percent of voters' support, leaving behind Arturas Zuokas, the outgoing head of the city and leader of liberal party Lithuanian Freedom Union, with 36.84 percent of the votes. Zuokas has been the mayor of the Lithuanian capital since April 2011 after heading the city from 2003 to 2007.

"I am perfectly aware that the first year will be the most difficult," Simasius said in an interview with BNS news agency, pointing to the capital city's debt and budget deficit.

"There is a financial chaos at the municipality and that's obvious from audit reports," the mayor-elect stressed.

Simasius said he intends to "stop wasting" rather than stick to belt-tightening measures.

In Lithuania's second largest city Kaunas, the renowned businessman Visvaldas Matijosaitis defeated the conservative incumbent Andrius Kupcinskas. A total of 62.68 percent of voters backed Matijosaitis, while Kupcinskas gathered 36.06 percent of support.

However, in the port city of Klaipeda, the incumbent mayor Vytautas Grubliauskas was re-elected, with 76.28 percent of the vote, against Agne Bilotaite, the conservatives' candidate.

BIG LOSSES FOR MANY

Political analysts suggested all main Lithuanian parties, as a matter of fact, suffered losses during the recent municipal and mayoral elections.

"Social democrats and conservatives won less mayoral offices than they had before, Liberal Movement maintained the same number," Mazvydas Jastramskis, lecturer at Vilnius University Institute of International Relation and Political Science, said at a press conference on Monday.

The performance of Liberal Movement should give the party a new stimulus in the national parliamentary elections to be held in 2016, political scientist Alvidas Lukosaitis said.

"I would agree that traditional parties suffered bigger or smaller losses, even though they will probably speak about their achievements," Lukosaitis noted.

In his words, more voters' support for non-party candidates showed a lack of trust in traditional parties.

"Liberals managed to do a lot, and conservatives should learn from them. They (the conservatives) should stop looking at those who are supporting them traditionally and pay attention to others," Prof. Bielinis said.

The country's ruling social democrats should carefully analyze the reasons of defeat in Lithuania's largest cities, he added.

The Labor party and party of Order and Justice are the most obvious losers during recent elections, probably due to the voters' disillusion about populist promises coming from the two parties, political scientists stated.

SURPRISES IN STORE

Experts called the defeat of the Labor party's mayoral candidates in Kedainiai and Svencionys a surprise. Kedainiai, a small town in central Lithuania, has been ruled by mayor from the Labor party for 18 years.

Meanwhile, the opposition's Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats party lost the mayoral office in Kaunas, a traditional conservative stronghold.

Municipal elections are seen as an important indicator of the main trends at the forthcoming parliamentary elections which will take place in 2016. Endit