Spotlight: Lithuania faces changes as 1st round of parliamentary elections results unveiled

With results of Sunday's first round of Lithuania's parliamentary elections unveiled, political analysts say the country is expected to face changes.

A total of 70 members of the 141-seat Seimas, or the parliament, were elected on Oct. 9, by proportional representation in a single nationwide multi-seat constituency.

Another 71 MPs are being elected in single-seat constituencies. Among them, three MPs were elected in single-mandate constituencies on Oct. 9.

The runoff voting round will be held in 68 single-member constituencies on Oct. 23.

Data unveiled by the country's Central Electoral Commission (CEC) following the first round voting showed close race between the Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) and the Peasants and Greens Union (LVZS).

The two leading parties have won 20 and 19 seats respectively at the single nationwide constituency of 70 seats. The current leader of the center-left ruling coalition, the Social Democratic Party (LSDP), ranked the third with 13 seats.

The other three parties that have entered the Seimas are Liberal Movement, with eight seats, Lithuanian Poles' Electoral Action-Union of Christian Families, with five seats, and Order and Justice Party, with five seats.

The conservative TS-LKD and LVZS will be the main competitors at the second round of the voting. Some 42 members of LVZS have made it to the second round with 21 leading in the first voting at their constituencies. Also 42 conservatives have entered the second round with 22 receiving the most support in the first voting at their constituencies.

LSDP have 21 members to compete in the second round with ten of them leading in the first voting.

THE LOSS OF RULING PARTIES

According to political analysts, the loss of Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius and his ruling social democrats reflects the country's need for changes amid people's disappointment with the party's passiveness, corruption scandals and implementation of the new labor code, which have faced criticism from president Dalia Grybauskaite over lack of social security guarantees.

"Poor performance was caused not by the scandals, but by poor response. Firstly, by their leader Butkevicius who had involved himself into the games with the president's office and the opposition," Vytautas Bruveris, political columnist from the daily Lietuvos rytas, told national broadcaster LRT. "Such response was false and, as we see it now, fatal," he added.

Sociologist Vladas Gaidys from Vilmorus told BNS news agency the new labor code and the most recent scandals with public procurements at the defense ministry and poor campaign at social media were to blame. According to Gaidys, active social media campaigns and active voting of the younger generation resulted in better than expected results of the conservatives and the Liberal Movement Party.

The ruling party LSDP admitted they had expected more support. Butkevicius argued that political scandals on the eve of the election had harmed the party's image.

"I wouldn't like to talk about it now, because the second round is coming," Butkevicius said during a press conference on Monday morning.

The partners of the current government also faced sharp decline in voters' support, forcing their leaders to resign. Rolandas Paksas has decided to step down as chairman of the party Order and Justice, despite that his party passed the 5 percent threshold to enter the parliament.

Valentinas Mazuronis decided to step down as the chairman of the Labour Party after it failed to surpass the required 5 percent vote threshold in the elections. Loreta Grauziniene, the speaker of Lithuanian Seimas, has also resigned from the Labour Party.

Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaite said the country had voted for changes and "against the coalition drowned in scandals." "But the election isn't over," said Grybauskaite in an audio announcement.

POSSIBLE SCENARIOS

With TS-LKD and LVZS leading the election race, political analysts say both parties will form the coalition, possibly including the Liberal Movement.

"Probably, the conservatives will try to involve the liberals into discussions on the new coalition. This way they could increase their negotiating power when talking with the Peasants and Greens Union," political scientist Ramunas Vilpisauskas told LRT.

The Liberal Movement of Lithuania also underwent a corruption scandal involving their former leader but managed to win eight seats in the first round.

The second scenario of LVZS teaming up with the social democrats is less likely, according to Vilpisauskas, since the peasants have been campaigning for changes.

On Monday morning, Ramunas Karbauskis, the leader of LVZS, expressed confidence over his party members' prospects in the second round, but was reluctant to talk about the possible partners.

"Talks about forming the government will start only after the second round, since the winners of the elections are not known," Karbauskis said at a press conference.

He said parties had not discussed possible candidates to the government, but Karbauskis earlier told local media that Saulius Skvernelis, former interior minister and former police chief, should become the prime minister.

"The representative from statutory authorities at the political top is a very bad thing," a political analyst and lecturer from Vytautas Magnus University told Lithuanian national radio LRT.

Karbauskis expected his party to have around 40 seats at the parliament after the second round.

Gabrielius Landsbergis, leader of TS-LKD, and the candidate to become the new prime minister, was confident the peasants would choose the conservatives as the coalition partners rather than social democrats.

"No matter what is the outcome of the second round, the government in Lithuania will be different," Landsbergis said to media after the election night.

Landsbergis said he stood "ready to become the prime minister."

The Homeland Union- Lithuanian Chirstian Democrats was expected to have more than 40 seats at the 141-seat Seimas.

With the coalition of the peasants and the conservatives seen as one of the most likely, the possible direction of the government's goals still remained unclear.

"For us it's hard to understand yet what the Peasants and Greens Union are for and what they are against. But we hope to find compromises," said Remigijus Simasius, leader of the Liberal Movement, while describing the possible coalition with the peasants at a press conference.

The liberals was expected to have 15 seats after the second round.

Leaders of the two winning parties denied formal talks about future ruling coalition to take place before the second round. Endit