Lithuania’s President Declares Victory in Presidential Election
Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nauseda has emerged victorious in the final round of the country’s presidential election, with preliminary results showing him comfortably ahead of Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte.
With nearly 90 percent of polling stations reporting, Nauseda, aged 60, has secured approximately three-quarters of the vote, while Simonyte, aged 49 and representing the ruling centre-right Homeland Union party, is trailing behind.
Following the release of the partial results, Prime Minister Simonyte gracefully conceded defeat and extended her congratulations to President Nauseda.
This is not the first time Nauseda and Simonyte have gone head-to-head in a presidential run-off election. In 2019, Nauseda emerged victorious with a commanding 66 percent of the vote.
As the president of Lithuania, Nauseda plays a semi-executive role, which involves overseeing the armed forces, chairing the defence and national security policy body, and representing the country at NATO and European Union summits.
A former senior economist at the Swedish banking group SEB, Nauseda, who is unaffiliated with any political party, emerged as the front-runner in the first round of the election held on May 12, securing 44 percent of the votes but falling short of the 50 percent required for an outright victory.
Simonyte, the only female candidate among eight contenders in the initial round, came in second with 20 percent of the votes.
Both Nauseda and Simonyte share a commitment to increasing defence spending to a minimum of 3 percent of Lithuania’s gross domestic product, in response to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The current planned defence spending stands at 2.75 percent.
Concerned about the potential threat from Russia, like other Baltic nations, Lithuania remains vigilant. While Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed he has no intention of targeting any NATO countries, the Baltic states are not taking any chances.
The relationship between Nauseda and Simonyte has also been scrutinized in foreign policy discussions, particularly regarding Lithuania’s stance on China.
Tensions between the two candidates escalated in 2021 when Vilnius permitted Taiwan to establish a de facto embassy under its official name, defying the conventional diplomatic protocol that uses the name of the capital, Taipei, to avoid upsetting Beijing.
In retaliation, China downgraded its diplomatic ties with Vilnius and imposed restrictions on Lithuanian exports. This prompted calls from some Lithuanian politicians to consider mending relations with China for economic reasons.