| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All 141 seats to the Seimas 71 seats were needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Lithuania |
---|
Constitution |
Legislature |
Judiciary |
Parliamentary elections were held in Lithuania on 8 October 2000. All 141 seats in the Seimas were up for election, 71 of them in single-seat constituencies based on first-past-the-post voting; the remaining 70, in a nationwide constituency based on proportional representation. Altogether, around 700 candidates competed in the single-seat constituencies, while over 1,100 candidates were included in the electoral lists for the nationwide constituency. [1]
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. Lithuania is considered to be one of the Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, to the east of Sweden and Denmark. It is bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and Kaliningrad Oblast to the southwest. Lithuania has an estimated population of 2.8 million people as of 2019, and its capital and largest city is Vilnius. Other major cities are Kaunas and Klaipėda. Lithuanians are Baltic people. The official language, Lithuanian, along with Latvian, is one of only two living languages in the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family.
The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, or simply the Seimas, is the unicameral parliament of Lithuania. The Seimas constitutes the legislative branch of government in Lithuania, enacting laws and amendments to the Constitution, passing the budget, confirming the Prime Minister and the Government and controlling their activities.
A first-past-the-post electoral system is one in which voters indicate on a ballot the candidate of their choice, and the candidate who receives the most votes wins. This is sometimes described as winner takes all. First-past-the-post voting is a plurality voting method. FPTP is a common, but not universal, feature of electoral systems with single-member electoral divisions, and is practiced in close to one third of countries. Notable examples include Canada, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as most of their current or former colonies and protectorates.
The Social Democratic coalition of former President Algirdas Brazauskas received the largest share of the popular vote in the nationwide constituency (31 per cent) and won the most seats in the Seimas (51 seats), but short of the 71 seats needed for the majority. New Union (Social Liberals), led by Artūras Paulauskas, came second in the nationwide constituency (19.64 per cent), winning 29 seats in the parliament. The centre-right Liberal Union, led by the Mayor of Vilnius and former Prime Minister Rolandas Paksas, became as the largest single party in the parliament, with 34 seats and 17.25 per cent of the vote in the nationwide constituency.
Algirdas Mykolas Brazauskas was the second President of a newly independent post-Soviet Lithuania from 1993 to 1998 and Prime Minister from 2001 to 2006.
The New Union was a social-liberal political party in Lithuania. The NS was a member of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR) and an observer of the Liberal International. It was founded in 1998 and is led by Artūras Paulauskas.
Artūras Paulauskas[ɐrˈtuːrɐs pɐʊˈɫɐ̂ˑʊskɐs](
The Homeland Union, which had led the government for the previous four years, performed poorly in the elections, receiving only 8.62 per cent of the vote and winning eight seats, down from more than 30% of the vote and 70 seats in the previous elections. Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius and many other prominent ministers were beaten in their constituencies. In the electoral campaign dominated by economic issues, the party was punished by voters for the economic recession and high unemployment, as well as its austerity policy. The Social Democratic coalition, on the other hand, had promised the end to austerity, including lower taxes and higher social spending. [1]
The Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats is a centre-right political party in Lithuania. It has 18,000 members and 30 of 141 seats in the Seimas.
Andrius Kubilius is a Lithuanian politician who was Prime Minister of Lithuania from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2012. He was leader of the conservative political party Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats.
Party | Proportional | Constituency | Total seats | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | |||
Social-Democratic Coalition of Algirdas Brazauskas | Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania | 457,294 | 31.08 | 12 | 156,354 | 10.66 | 14 | 26 |
Social Democratic Party of Lithuania | 12 | 120,672 | 8.23 | 7 | 19 | |||
Union of the Russians of Lithuania | 3 | 4,446 | 0.3 | 0 | 3 | |||
New Democracy Party | 1 | 12,454 | 0.85 | 2 | 3 | |||
New Union (Social Liberals) [a] | 288,895 | 19.64 | 18 | 225,878 | 15.41 | 11 | 29 | |
Liberal Union of Lithuania [a] | 253,823 | 17.25 | 16 | 229,438 | 15.65 | 18 | 34 | |
Homeland Union – Lithuanian Conservatives | 126,850 | 8.62 | 8 | 104,631 | 7.14 | 1 | 9 | |
Christian Democratic Union | 61,583 | 4.19 | 0 | 33,221 | 2.27 | 1 | 1 | |
Lithuanian Peasants Party | 60,040 | 4.08 | 0 | 96,853 | 6.61 | 4 | 4 | |
Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party | 45,227 | 3.07 | 0 | 69,827 | 4.76 | 2 | 2 | |
Lithuanian Centre Union | 42,030 | 2.86 | 0 | 89,837 | 6.13 | 2 | 2 | |
Union of Moderate Conservatives | 29,615 | 2.01 | 0 | 42,116 | 2.87 | 1 | 1 | |
Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania | 28,641 | 1.95 | 0 | 40,376 | 2.75 | 2 | 2 | |
Lithuanian People's Union "For Just Lithuania" | 21,583 | 1.47 | 0 | 5,323 | 0.36 | 0 | 0 | |
Lithuanian Liberty Union | 18,622 | 1.27 | 0 | 23,202 | 1.58 | 1 | 1 | |
Union of Young Lithuania, New Nationalists and Political Prisoners | 16,941 | 1.15 | 0 | 16,729 | 1.14 | 1 | 1 | |
Lithuanian Nationalist Union | Lithuanian Nationalists Union | 12,884 | 0.88 | 0 | 5,567 | 0.38 | 0 | 0 |
Lithuanian Liberty League | 4,685 | 0.32 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Lithuanian Party "Social Democracy – 2000" | 7,219 | 0.49 | 0 | 32,336 | 2.21 | 0 | 0 | |
Modern Christian-Democratic Union [a] | – | – | – | 17,929 | 1.22 | 1 | 1 | |
Lithuanian Union of Political Prisoners and Deportees | – | – | – | 8,495 | 0.58 | 0 | 0 | |
Homeland People's Party | – | – | – | 7,038 | 0.48 | 0 | 0 | |
National Democratic Party of Lithuania | – | – | – | 5,082 | 0.35 | 0 | 0 | |
Lithuanian Democratic Party | – | – | – | 3,323 | 0.23 | 0 | 0 | |
Lithuanian Socialist Party | – | – | – | 1,701 | 0.12 | 0 | 0 | |
Republican Party | – | – | – | 1,380 | 0.09 | 0 | 0 | |
Lithuanian Justice Party | – | – | – | 515 | 0.04 | 0 | 0 | |
Independents | – | – | – | 106,806 | 7.28 | 3 | 3 | |
Invalid/blank votes | 68,496 | – | – | 73,517 | – | – | – | |
Total | 1,539,743 | 100 | 70 | 1,539,743 | 100 | 71 | 141 | |
Registered voters/turnout | 2,626,321 | 58.63 | – | 2,626,321 | 58.63 | – | – | |
Source: University of Essex |
a Two Modern Christian-Democratic Union candidates were elected in the proportional vote, having run on the lists of the New Union (Social Liberals) and the Liberal Union of Lithuania. [2]
Modern Christian-Democratic Union, was a political party in Lithuania that existed between 1998 and 2003. In 2003 the party joined forces with the Liberal Union of Lithuania and the Centre Union of Lithuania to form the Liberal and Centre Union.
The Liberal Union of Lithuania was a political party in Lithuania. At its peak, the party had 33 of 141 members of the Seimas.
The Liberal Union, the New Union (Social Liberals), the Centre Union and the Modern Christian Democrats formed a coalition after the election, with Rolandas Paksas appointed as the new Prime Minister and Artūras Paulauskas elected as the Speaker of the Seimas. [1] The coalition was not long-lasting and collapsed in June 2001 amid disagreements over privatisation and other reforms. [3]
The Liberal and Centre Union was a conservative-liberal political party in Lithuania active between 2003 and 2014.
Politics of Lithuania takes place in a framework of a unitary semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Lithuania is the head of state and the Prime Minister of Lithuania is the head of government, and of a multi-party system.
Rolandas Paksas is a Lithuanian politician who was President of Lithuania from 2003 to 2004. He was previously Prime Minister of Lithuania in 1999 and again from 2000 to 2001, and he also served as Mayor of Vilnius from 1997 to 1999 and again from 2000 to 2001. He has led Order and Justice from 2004 to 2016 and has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2009.
Presidential elections were held in Lithuania in June 2004 alongside European elections. They were held following the impeachment of President Rolandas Paksas, who was elected in January 2003. Paksas was impeached for allegedly leaking classified material, and granting citizenship to Russian businessman Jurij Borisov in exchange for financial support. The Constitutional Court of Lithuania ruled that Paksas could not seek re-election as president. In accordance with the constitution, the speaker of parliament, Artūras Paulauskas, became acting president pending new elections.
Party Order and Justice, formerly the Liberal Democratic Party, is a right-wing national-conservative political party in Lithuania that self-identifies as 'left-of-centre'. It has eleven members in the Seimas, the unicameral Lithuanian parliament.
Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania was a social democratic political party in Lithuania in 1990s. The youth organization of LDDP was called Lithuanian Labourist Youth Union.
Elections in Lithuania gives information on elections and election results in Lithuania.
Parliamentary elections were held in Lithuania on 10 October 2004, with a second round on 24 October 2004 in the constituencies where no candidate won a majority in the first round of voting. All 141 seats in the Seimas were up for election; 71 in single-seat constituencies elected by majority vote and the remaining 70 in a nationwide constituency based on proportional representation.
Parliamentary elections were held in Lithuania on 12 October 2008, with a second round on 26 October in the constituencies where no candidate won a majority in the first round of voting. All 141 seats in the Seimas were up for election; 71 in single-seat constituencies elected by majority vote and the remaining 70 in a nationwide constituency based on proportional representation. Together with the elections, a referendum on extending the operation of Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant was held.
Government of the Republic of Lithuania is the cabinet of Lithuania, exercising executive power in the country. Among other responsibilities, it executes laws and resolutions of the parliament, the Seimas, and the decrees of the President, manages state property and, together with the President, executes the foreign policy of the country. The Government also has the right of legislative initiative, puts together the state budget and presents it to the Seimas for approval.
Parliamentary elections were held in Lithuania in two stages on 25 October and 15 November 1992. All 141 members of the Seimas, which replaced the Supreme Council, were elected; 70 based on proportional party lists and 71 in single member constituencies. Where no candidate gained more than 50% of the vote on 25 October, a run-off was held on 15 November. The first round of the elections were held simultaneously with a referendum on the adoption of a new constitution.
Parliamentary elections were held in Lithuania in two stages on 20 October and 10 November 1996. All 141 seats in the Seimas were up for election; 70 based on proportional party lists and 71 in single member constituencies. Where no candidate gained more than 50% of the vote on 20 October, a run-off was held on 10 November.
Parliamentary elections were held in Lithuania on 14 October 2012, with a second round on 28 October in the constituencies where no candidate won a majority in the first round of voting. All 141 seats in the Seimas were up for election; 71 in single-seat constituencies elected by majority vote and the remaining 70 in a nationwide constituency based on proportional representation. Together with the elections, a referendum on the construction of a new nuclear power plant was held.
Presidential elections were held in Lithuania on 11 May 2014, with a second round held on 25 May between the top two candidates from the first round. In the second round, incumbent President Dalia Grybauskaitė was re-elected with 58% of the vote.
Parliamentary elections were held in Lithuania on 9 October 2016, with a second round held on 23 October in the constituencies where no candidate won a majority in the first round of voting. All 141 seats in the Seimas were up for election; 71 in single-member constituencies elected by majority vote and the remaining 70 in a nationwide constituency based on proportional representation.
The Eighth Seimas of Lithuania was a parliament (Seimas) elected in Lithuania. Elections took place on 8 October 2000. The Seimas commenced its work on 19 October 2000 and served a four-year term, with the last session on 11 November 2004.
The Ninth Seimas of Lithuania was a parliament (Seimas) elected in Lithuania. Elections took place on 10 October 2004, with the run-off on 24 October. The Seimas commenced its work on 15 November 2004 and served a four-year term, with the last session on 16 November 2008.
The Second Paksas Cabinet was the 11th cabinet of Lithuania since 1990. It consisted of the Prime Minister and 13 government ministers.