On May 12, Lithuania is holding its eighth presidential election since independence.
At the same time, a referendum is being held on the issue of introducing dual citizenship.
How are presidential elections and referendums held in Lithuania?
About 1.9 thousand polling stations are open, voting will end at 20:00. Preliminary results are expected to be known after midnight.
Early voting was held on Monday; on Friday and Saturday, those who were unable to visit the polling station due to age or health conditions voted at home.
According to official data, almost 100,000 applications were submitted to vote at home. Many Lithuanian politicians voted early.
Of the 2.889 million residents of the republic and Lithuanian citizens abroad, 2.385 million people have the right to vote.
Compared to the last presidential elections, held in 2019, the number of voters decreased by 99.7 thousand (4%) due to unfavorable demographic conditions.
The President of Lithuania is elected for a 5-year term by direct secret ballot. There is an age limit of 40 years.
Also, a candidate for the presidency of Lithuania must be a citizen of the republic by origin and have resided in the country for at least the last 3 years.
To win, a candidate must receive over 50% of the votes. If none of the candidates succeeds, a second round of elections will take place in 2 weeks with the participation of the two leaders of the first round.
8 candidates are vying for the presidency. Four are self-nominated, four were nominated by parties.
According to opinion polls and expert opinion, the favorites are the current head of state Gitanas Nausėda, head of government Ingrida Simonytė and self-nominated head of the Bar Council Ignas Wegele.
Nauseda has the greatest chance of winning, but not based on the results of the first round. According to the latest opinion poll conducted in April, 29.1% of voters are ready to vote for the current president.
Nauseda’s main rival is Simonyte. According to an April poll, 14% of voters are ready to vote for her. In March, this figure barely exceeded 10%.
Simonyte was nominated by the ruling conservative party Fatherland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats. The candidate stated that she voted early for herself.
Back in March, Wegele was ahead of her in the polls. In April, 12.7% of voters would have voted for him.
Earlier it was reported that Swiss Vice-Chancellor Andre Simonazzi was on a hike in the mountains.
