Social Democrats win the elections in Lithuania, defeating the center-right government

VILNIUS – Lithuania’ Center-left opposition parties celebrated victory on Monday after defeating the center-right ruling coalition in the last round of national elections.

After 100% of the votes have been counted Sunday pollsthe Social Democrats won 52 seats in the 141-seat parliament, known as the Sejm, ending the four-year rule of the Homeland Union government led by conservative Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė.

The Social Democrats will begin talks on forming a majority cabinet with two smaller center-left parties, the Democratic Union and the Union of Peasants and Greens, which won 14 and eight seats respectively. The coalition is expected to control at least 74 seats.

The Šimonytė Homeland Union won only 28 seats in the two-round elections.

Vilija Blinkevičiūtė, leader of the Social Democrats, thanked fans as a cheering crowd celebrated the victory in central Vilnius on Sunday.

“I am very grateful to the citizens of Lithuania who voted for us so actively today,” she said, adding that “the results showed that people want changes, a completely different government.”

The result was a surprise for the ruling conservatives, who later lost only two seats to the social democrats first round.

Analysts predicted that Lithuania would continue the historical pattern in which voters would look different every four years.

Šimonytė admitted, noting the pattern. “That’s how it is in Lithuania. “Every election we see the pendulum swing one way or the other,” she told reporters. “We respect the will of the voters.”

The vote in Lithuania, which borders the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad to the west and Belarus to the east, took place at a time when Russia’s war in Ukraine fuels greater concerns about Moscow’s intentions, especially in the strategically important Baltic Sea region.

Analysts say that there will be no significant change in Lithuania’s foreign policy. The European Union and NATO member is a staunch supporter of Ukraine.

The outgoing government has faced criticism for the stringent measures it adopted during the pandemic, with many people complaining that its government had not done enough to help businesses during the lockdown. Others say thousands of people did not have adequate access to health care.

Šimonytė has also faced criticism for her treatment of migrants arriving through the country Belarus. Lithuania also laid claim to its eastern neighbor Russiaorganized the inflow of people, mainly from Africa and the Middle East.

Although the country has seen annual double-digit growth in personal income and has one of the lowest inflation rates in the 27-nation bloc, most voters seemed unimpressed.

The results also mean that a new cabinet may be formed without Nemuno Aušra’s third populist party with 20 seats. Its leader, Remigijus Žemaitaitis, had to resign from parliament earlier this year for making anti-Semitic statements.

After the results were announced, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Gabrielius Landsbergis, announced his resignation from the leadership of the Fatherland Union and his departure from politics.

The turnout on Sunday was 41.31 percent and was one of the highest in the second round.