A fierce battle in Vilnius
In Vilnius, the conservative candidate Valdas Benkunskas and Artūras Zuokas of the Freedom and Justice party fought it out in the second round for the city manager title. The latter was ahead for a long time, but the large districts determined the final result.
When the results were added up, Valdas Benkunskas won 52.05% of the vote. Arturas Zuokas, who had been leading for a long time, received 46.66% of the vote.
In the Vilnius District Municipal Council, 18 seats were won by the LLRA-KŠS (49.03%) and 7 seats by the LSDP (18.82%). The centre-right coalition (Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats, Liberal Movement, Freedom Party) got 6 seats (17.56%).
Sensation in Vilnius District
In Vilnius District, Robert Duchnevič of the Social Democrats and Waldemar Urban of the Union of Polish Electoral Action-Lithuanian Union of Christian Families fought for the mayor's post.
The latter had a long lead, but they began to disappear as the results started coming in from the larger districts. The votes brought about Duchnevič's victory from the district of Didžioji Riese, which helped the Social Democrat to overturn the result and win 50.20% of the votes. Urban won 49.07% of the vote.
The 31-year-old R.Duchnevič won 526 votes more than his opponent (23,519 against 22,993).
This means that for the first time, a candidate of the Christian Families Union Party (LRRA-CFU), led by Waldemar Tomaszewski, will not be the head of the Vilnius District.
The LRR-KCS won 18 seats in the Vilnius District Municipal Council (49.03%), and the LSDP won 7 seats (18.82%). The centre-right coalition (Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats, Liberal Movement, Freedom Party) won 6 seats (17.56%). LLRA-KŠS has enough seats to avoid the need for coalition partners and to be able to have a majority in the Municipal Council.
No surprises in Klaipėda
In the second round, the residents of Klaipėda chose between Arvydas Vaitkus, the leader of the Political Committee „Faithful to Klaipėda“, and conservative Audrius Petrošius.
There was no intrigue from the very beginning, as Vaitkus was always confidently leading. When the precincts' results were counted, Vaitkus received 61.61% of the votes, while Petrosius received 36.88%.
Vaitkus, who was elected mayor of Klaipėda, says that he intends to negotiate with „Laisvė ir teisingumas“ (Freedom and Justice) and the Lithuanian Peasant and Green Union (LVŽS) in the city council about working together in the ruling coalition.
„Liberty and Justice ran Remigijus Žemaitaitis as a mayoral candidate in the mayoral elections, while LVŽS ran Ligita Girskienė.
„I will definitely interview both the team of R. Žemakaitis and L. Girskienė. I feel that they really came to the elections and supported our team. And then it's a matter of negotiation,“ Vaitkus told „Laisvės TV“ on Sunday evening.
So far, according to the newly elected Klaipėda mayor, he has not started negotiations on the formation of a majority.
„I haven't really had a chance to negotiate with anyone, but I think we will talk with the team about the mood after tonight, tomorrow morning. They have been following the mood more and listening to the information on possible coalitions, talking to all the political forces,“ Vaiktus said.
Speaking about the reasons for his victory, the politician assured that it was due to his constructive work in the Council during this term.
„People have seen what we have been doing for four years. Our communication with the communities in Klaipėda, our position in the City Council when making decisions, our stability not to be involved in proposals to destroy the ruling majority, but on the contrary, to support all the good decisions that have been brought“, – said A. Vaitkus.
The political committee „Ištikimi Klaipėdai“ (Faithful to Klaipėda), which he represents, won 19.94% of the votes and 7 seats in the Klaipėda City Council elections held on 5 March. The same number of seats will be held by „Laisvė ir teisingumas“ (18.02%) and the Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats (17.82%).
The Liberals' Movement (9.35%), the Lithuanian Peasants' and Greens' Union (8.84%) and the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania (7.8%) each have 3 seats.
Mayors are elected in the second round in 34 Lithuanian municipalities in these municipal elections.
10.05% of voters, i.e. 143,000 people, took part in early voting.
In total, more than 1 million 422 thousand voters from 34 electoral districts are eligible to vote in the second round.
