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Of: TT
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Photo: Mindaugas Kulbis / AP / TT
Former Finance Minister Ingrida Simonyte, leader of the Fosterlandsförbundet Christian Democratic Party (TS-LKD), will likely lead the future government of Lithuania. Stock Photography.
The center-right opposition alliance won the Lithuanian parliamentary elections, it has been clear since almost all the votes were counted. The government’s defeat comes after an electoral campaign that focused on managing the pandemic.
After counting almost all the votes, it is clear that the Christian Democrat Fosterlandsförbundet (TS-LKD) wins 50 of the 141 seats in parliament, while the ruling Peasants and Environment Party (LVZS) gets 32 seats.
Former Finance Minister Ingrida Simonyte, who is the prime minister candidate for Fosterlandsförbundet, is expected to form a government alongside two Liberal parties that together have won 24 seats. Both liberal parties are led by women, paving the way for a government dominated by women.
Negotiations within the coalition began on Monday, but are expected to last several weeks. A new government may not take office until December.
– Three parties agreed to start discussions on the new coalition. But nothing is decided until everything is decided, says Ingrida Simonyte.
It is the handling of the pandemic that has been in focus during the electoral campaign, and after the result was clear, the winner of the election took the opportunity to criticize the government’s handling of the crisis.
– It seems that we are not taking advantage of the summer to improve our ability to combat the second wave of the coronavirus, and what we see now is confusion in decision-making, says Ingrida Simonyte.
– When we have little confidence in the government, society does not necessarily listen to its recommendations. We have missed the voices of experts, scientists and doctors.
Lithuania was relatively spared from COVID-19 in the spring, but has seen a sharp increase in the number of confirmed cases in recent months. A total of 10,184 people have been confirmed to be infected, of which 134 have died.
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