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Lithuania: Right-Wing Simonyte and Nauseda to Face in Presidential Runoff

  • Lithuanian Presidential Candidates Gitanas Nauseda (left) and Ingrida Simonyte (right) will face off in the second round.

    Lithuanian Presidential Candidates Gitanas Nauseda (left) and Ingrida Simonyte (right) will face off in the second round. | Photo: Reuters/ Reuters

Published 12 May 2019
Opinion

The second round of the presidential elections is scheduled for May 26, when European Parliament elections are also due to be held. Lithuanians will now have to choose between two right-wing programs.

Two right-wing candidates, Ingrida Simonyte and Gitanas Nauseda, will face off in the second round of Lithuania’s presidential election, as Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis conceded defeat on Sunday’s vote vowing to resign his post.

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According to data from the Central Electoral Commission (VRK), with 85 percent of the ballots counted, Nauseda had 31 percent, Simonyte 29 percent and Skvernelis 21 percent. The incumbent center-left PM said he would resign his post on July 12, claiming “the election, I said will be an evaluation of my job as a prime minister. So there it is.”

The second round of the presidential elections is scheduled for May 26, when European Parliament elections are also due to be held. Lithuanians will now have to choose between two right-wing programs.

“My message in the second round will be that we need to care not only for big cities but also for smaller towns, so that we don’t have two Lithuanias, but one Lithuania, which is successful and strong,” Simonyte told reporters.

Simonyte is a former minister of finance and is backed by Lithuania's main far-right party Homeland Union. Her discourse is conservative and very anti-Russian, yet trying to portray herself as an independent candidate to appeal to a bigger electorate.

"She attracts young, pro-western voters and liberal voters, which can be a bit surprising given she's linked to the far-right party," political science professor Aine Ramonaite told Euronews, adding that nonetheless in the western definition of left and right, she would be considered a “moderate.”

Meanwhile, the frontrunner Gitanas Nauseda is a household name for Lithuanians. The economist refused to be associated with any political party and launched himself as a "catch-all" center-right candidate, who also describes himself as a conservative. 

However, in contrast with Simonyte avoids topics related to Russian aggression, and has focused mainly on an economic-driven discussion pushing for a socially-oriented economy with a strong welfare system. 

“Retirement is leading to poverty because pensions are obviously too low,” Nauseda said in a recent debate, adding he would use the president’s position to increase revenues and better fund social services, as well as help businesses expand in emerging markets, especially China. Both Nauseda and Simonyte say tax income should be raised to fund more state spending.

Sunday’s electoral process also held two binding referendums, on dual citizenship and downsizing the country's parliament. The outcome of both referendums, as well as final results, are expected later on Monday morning but trends will unlikely change. 

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