As ELTA reported earlier, the Liberal Movement branches have nominated five representatives of the political force as party chairpersons. By Wednesday evening, they must submit their consent to participate in the elections or withdraw their candidacy to the party's executive committee.
Čmilytė-Nielsen, who has led the Liberals since 2019, confirmed to ELTA that she will run in the party chair elections this autumn.
„Support is the most important thing when it comes to running for office. It is the feeling that your party colleagues and comrades appreciate and trust you. We will see how many candidates there will be tomorrow and how many will be confirmed. There will likely be several candidates, and we will be able to discuss and debate the future of the Liberals,“ Čmilytė-Nielsen told ELTA.
The current party chair has already received support from Seimas members Eugenijus Gentvilas and Simonas Gentvilas, who have decided not to run.
„I have made my decision – I will not run. I support Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, although I agree that there are other good colleagues. But I think that now, after the successful Seimas elections, on what basis could we replace Viktorija?“ signatory Gentvilas commented to Elta.
„We will discuss the decision tomorrow, but I do not plan to run. I firmly believe that the current chair has proven to be effective, with no complaints, and we are achieving success. My focus is on being a team member,“ commented former Environment Minister Gentvilas.
Two contenders have not yet revealed their decision
Meanwhile, former Culture Minister Kairys has so far only said that he has not yet decided whether to seek the party chairmanship.
„Tomorrow, the board will meet, and we will think about the best way forward,“ said the MP.
„We still have time until tomorrow. We don't have any leadership problems in the party, but it's clear that each candidate has their role, their appeal to different party members, and so on. And that democratic process is always necessary,“ commented S. Kairys.
Earlier, he told ELTA that he did not rule out the possibility of seeking the leadership of the Liberal Movement and said that he would consider the current chairwoman's decision to run.
The mayor of Plungė, Klišonis, president of the Association of Local Authorities in Lithuania (LSA), also promised to decide by tomorrow.
„I am truly grateful to the Plungė branch for nominating me. I am still considering my options. There is certainly a lot of work to be done – I am not complaining that I don't have enough to do. We will see,“ he said.
„Yes, we have a board meeting tomorrow, and we will discuss it,“ he replied when asked if he had already decided against running.
ELTA reminds us that the Liberal Movement branches had until 30 June to nominate candidates for the party chairmanship.
On Wednesday, 2 July, the party's board will finalise the list of candidates, and those nominated must announce whether they will participate in the chairperson election. The Liberal Movement Council will approve the list drawn up on 12 July.
The first round of elections for the chair of the Liberal Movement will take place from 8 to 12 September. If no leader is elected, a second round will be held on 18–20 September. All party members will have the right to vote electronically in the elections for the leader of the political force.
The new leader of the Liberal Movement is expected to be confirmed at the party congress on 20 September.
The chair of the Liberal Movement is elected for a two-year term.
Čmilytė-Nielsen became the leader of the Liberal Movement in 2019. She was later re-elected for two more terms.