Resounding victory

Lithuanians elect new president on Sunday

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda secured himself another term in office on Sunday. The favored incumbent prevailed in a run-off election against Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte, who had already lost to Nauseda five years ago.

Simonyte conceded defeat even before the end of the count, as Nauseda was well ahead. After 90 percent of all constituencies had been counted, he had 75 percent of the votes.

Winner thanked people and rival
"I would like to thank the Lithuanian people for their support," said Nauseda at his election party and spoke of a "great mandate of trust". "I am aware that I must appreciate this vote of confidence," he emphasized and thanked his rival Simonyte for her honourable election campaign.

Simonyte barely made any gains compared to the first round of voting. She had qualified for the run-off with around 20 percent of the vote, while the incumbent had achieved 44 percent. Five years ago, the non-party politician won the duel with Simonyte with 66% of the vote. According to preliminary figures, voter turnout was 49.6%, which was lower than in the 2019 election.

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War central theme
The war was a central issue in the election campaign. Nauseda made a name for himself as a staunch supporter of Ukraine, which was attacked by Russia. He also made a name for himself internationally as a committed representative of the interests of his home country, which is particularly exposed in the geopolitical confrontation with Russia due to its location on NATO's eastern flank.

Germany wants to permanently station a combat-ready brigade of up to 5,000 soldiers in the country located between Belarus and the Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad. The Lithuanian-Polish border, also known as the "Suwalki Gap", is considered NATO's Achilles' heel because it can hardly be conventionally defended against a Russian attack and is the only land link between the three Baltic ex-Soviet republics and the rest of the Western defense alliance.

Both in favor of a strong NATO role
In Lithuania, the head of state has mainly representative tasks, but in comparison to the Austrian Federal President, he has more extensive powers in foreign and defense policy. Nauseda and Simonyte speak with one voice on many issues. For example, both are firmly in favor of a strong role for NATO in the security of the region and support higher military spending.

There are differences between the two conservative economists on socio-political issues such as the right to abortion and the recognition of same-sex partnerships. Simonyte takes a more liberal stance in Catholic Lithuania than Nauseda.