The first round of Lithuania’s presidential election concluded without a clear winner. Incumbent Gitanas Nauseda and Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte will now face off in a runoff on May 26th.
The future head of state in Lithuania will be decided in a runoff election. In the initial round of the presidential election, incumbent favorite Gitanas Nauseda secured just over 44 percent of the vote after the counting of nearly all ballots, falling short of an absolute majority. Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte came in second with just over 19 percent, as announced by the election commission in Vilnius early Monday morning.
Both candidates will now advance to the electoral duel for the highest office in the Baltic EU and NATO member state, which shares borders with Russia’s Baltic exclave Kaliningrad and its close ally Belarus. Nauseda and Simonyte previously competed against each other in the presidential election five years ago.
Nauseda has garnered recognition as a staunch supporter of Ukraine. Pre-election polls positioned him as the frontrunner, a sentiment he echoed on election night, expressing his intention to secure victory in the first round.
Now, he asserts his determination to pursue victory in the second round to secure a second five-year term. “I believe I can achieve this,” stated the 59-year-old.
Since 2019, Nauseda has held the helm of the largest Baltic state. The election campaign centered on conflict in Ukraine and its implications for national security, along with social policy issues.
Approximately 2.4 million people were eligible to vote. According to the election commission in Vilnius, voter turnout exceeded 59 percent, marking the highest turnout in the first round of presidential elections since 1997.
