AFP: Lithuania began voting Sunday in a run-off general election that could see the opposition Conservatives cement their claim on power by stretching a lead from the first round two weeks ago
VILNIUS, Oct 26, 2008 (AFP) - Lithuania began voting Sunday in a run-off general election that could see the opposition Conservatives cement their claim on power by stretching a lead from the first round two weeks ago. The Conservatives are seeking to increase their clout in the Baltic state's 141-member parliament and put the final nail in the centre-left administration of Social Democrat Gediminas Kirkilas.
"We're going for an agenda of change," said Andrius Kubilius, who was prime minister in 1999-2000 and whose election campaign centred on economic reform and strict family values in this majority Roman Catholic country.
"The next government won't have an easy time. We understand that, and we're ready for it," he added.
Data show that Lithuania's long-robust economic growth is set to stall next year in the face of the global financial crisis, high inflation and slumping demand in export markets, and analysts warn an outright recession is on the cards.
Polling stations opened as scheduled Sunday at 7:00 am (0500 GMT) and were due to close at 8:00 pm (1800 GMT).
Even if the Conservatives do well, they face the prospect of having to knit together a coalition government because a parliamentary majority will be out of reach.
Analysts said the Conservatives will be able to form the bedrock of a government by securing a total of almost 50 seats, double what they held in the parliament elected in 2004.
Multi-party coalitions are the norm in Lithuania, which joined the European Union in 2004, 13 years after emerging from five decades of Soviet rule, and where political life is often rocky.
Kirkilas, who became Lithuania's 11th premier since independence in a 2006 reshuffle, led a five-party government.
But he barely controlled parliament and for a while even relied on a non-aggression pact with the Conservatives to stay afloat.Under Lithuanian law, 70 lawmakers are elected by proportional representation from party lists and the remaining 71 in single-member constituencies.
In the proportional race on October 12 the Conservatives secured 18 seats in the single-chamber parliament.
In the constituencies, candidates must win more than half the vote to be elected outright in the first round -- but only two Social Democrats and one candidate from Lithuania's Polish-speaking minority made the cut, leaving 68 seats up for grabs in the run-off.
The National Resurrection Party came second in the first round, with 13 seats, and looks set to play a pivotal role in bolstering a Conservative-led government.
National Resurrection was founded this year by Arunas Valinskas -- a reality TV producer and host of the Lithuanian version of the quiz show "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" -- in what he called a bid to restore faith in politicians.
Lithuania's parliament is one of the least popular institutions among the country's 3.4 million people, and just under half of the country's 2.7 million voters turned out on October 12.
Disgraced ex-president Rolandas Paksas failed to make his planned high-profile comeback in the first round, as his populist Order and Justice Party won 11 seats.
Paksas, a former prime minister and ex-stunt pilot, was elected president in 2003, but a year later became Europe's first head of state to be removed by impeachment after he was embroiled in a corruption scandal.
The Social Democrats, who have held office since 2001 by forming various coalitions, won 13 seats in the first round.
The populist Labour Party -- run by ex-minister Viktor Uspaskich, a gherkin entrepreneur who has faced a fraud probe -- suffered a first-round blow, winning just eight seats.
Two other parties won five seats each: the Liberal Movement and the Liberal and Centre Union, which are seen as potential allies for the Conservatives.
