Incumbent Nauseda clearly won the first round of the presidential election in Lithuania. The politician declared himself the winner of the election. However, he did not yet achieve an absolute majority. That’s why a runoff election with the second-placed candidate, Prime Minister Simonyte, is necessary.
The future head of state in Lithuania will be decided in a runoff election. In the first round of the presidential election, the favored incumbent Gitanas Nauseda got a good 44 percent after almost all votes were counted – and thus missed an absolute majority.
Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte came in second with a good 19 percent, as the electoral commission in Vilnius announced early this morning. Both will now go into the election duel on May 26th for the highest state office in the Baltic EU and NATO country, which borders the Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad and Russia’s close ally Belarus. Nauseda and Simonyte had already competed against each other in the previous presidential election five years ago.
Nauseda optimistic
Nauseda made a name for himself as a determined supporter of Ukraine in its defensive war against Russia. Surveys before the direct election showed him as the favorite. And on election night, the independent politician made no secret of wanting to win in the first round.
Now he will vigorously strive for victory in the second round in order to secure a second five-year term in office. “I think I will succeed,” said the 59-year-old.
voter turnout at over 59 percent
Nauseda has been at the head of the largest Baltic state since 2019. The focus of the election campaign was Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its impact on national security as well as social policy issues.
A total of seven candidates ran against Nauseda. Almost 2.4 million people were eligible to vote. According to the electoral commission in Vilnius, turnout was over 59 percent – the highest figure in the first round of the presidential election since 1997.
President with competencies in foreign and Defense policy
At the same time as the vote, a referendum on the introduction of dual citizenship took place. In Lithuania, the head of state has primarily representative tasks.
However, compared to the German Federal President, the President has more extensive competencies in foreign and defense policy. He is also Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
Lithuania will likely be the focus of the Bundeswehr’s military engagement in the coming years. In response to the changed security situation in Europe and Russia’s aggressive behavior, the federal government has agreed to permanently station a combat-ready brigade with up to 5,000 German soldiers in the Baltic state.