DM Monitoring
VILNIUS: Lithuania held the second round of parliamentary elections Sunday to elect 68 members of the 141-seat unicameral parliament, or the Seimas, whose 73 other members have been elected in the first round on Oct. 11.
In the first round of vote, 70 seats in the Seimas were shared by six parties.
The opposition Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) won 23 seats, followed by the ruling Peasants and Greens Union with 16 seats secured. The Labor Party ranked third with nine seats.
The other three parties that have entered the Seimas are the Social Democratic Party and the Freedom Party, each capturing eight seats respectively, and the Liberal Movement with six seats.
In the 71 single-member constituencies, one seat was secured by the TS-LKD, and two by the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania-Christian Families Alliance, after the first round of the elections. Parliament members will serve a four-year term.
A total of 1,754 candidates from 17 parties participated in the elections this year.
The second round of the elections runs from 7:00 a.m. (0500 GMT) to 8:00 p.m. local time (1800 GMT).
Data from the Central Electoral Commission showed that some 169,616 voters, or 7.34 percent of Lithuania’s eligible voters, have cast their ballots during a four-day early voting, which kicked off on Monday, due to social distancing measures amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Lithuania, 71 members of the 141-seat Seimas are elected in single-seat constituencies, and the remaining 70 members of parliament are elected by proportional representation in a single nationwide multi-seat constituency.
A party needs at least 5 percent of votes to enter the Seimas. For electoral coalitions, the threshold is 7 percent.
