2019 Lithuanian presidential election
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Presidential elections were held in Lithuania on 12 May 2019, with a second round held on 26 May 2019.[1] Due to a constitutional limit of two terms in office, incumbent president Dalia Grybauskaitė was unable to run, having won the 2009 and 2014 elections.
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12 May 2019 (first round)
26 May 2019 (second round) | |||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 57.37% (first round) 53.88% (second round) | ||||||||||||||||
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 First round results by municipality Nausėda: 30–45% 45%+ Šimonytė: 30–35% 35-40% 40–45% Skvernelis: 30–45% Tomaševski: 30–35% 45%+% | |||||||||||||||||
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As no candidate obtained 50% of the vote in the first round, a second round was held between the top two candidates, Ingrida Šimonytė and Gitanas Nausėda. Nausėda was elected with 67% of the vote and was inaugurated as President of Lithuania on 12 July.[2]
Electoral system
The elections were held using the two-round system. To win in the first round, a candidate required an absolute majority of the vote and either voter turnout to be above 50% or for their vote share to be equivalent to at least one-third of the number of registered voters. If no candidate wins in the first round, a second round is required, featuring the top two candidates.[3]
Candidates
Approved candidates
- Naglis Puteikis, MP, Chairman of the Lithuanian Centre Party.
- Valentinas Mazuronis, MEP, former Minister of Environment. Independent.
- Gitanas Nausėda, economist, lecturer. Independent.
- Arvydas Juozaitis, philosopher, former Olympic athlete. Independent.
- Ingrida Šimonytė, MP, former deputy chairwoman of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania (2013–2016), former Minister of Finance (2009–2012). Independent, nominated by the Homeland Union.
- Vytenis Andriukaitis, Lithuania's European Commissioner, former Minister of Health (2012–2014), and a co-signatory to the 1990 Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania. Nominated by the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania.
- Saulius Skvernelis, Prime Minister since 2016, former Minister of Interior (2014–2016) [4] Independent, nominated by the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union and the Social Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania.
- Mindaugas Puidokas, MP. Independent.
- Valdemar Tomaševski, MEP, Chairman of Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania.
Declined candidates
- Žygimantas Pavilionis, MP, former Ambassador of Lithuania to the United States[5]
- Vygaudas Ušackas, former EU Ambassador to Russia. Lost TS-LKD primaries.
- Aušra Maldeikienė, MP
- Visvaldas Matijošaitis, Mayor of Kaunas[6]
- Vitas Gudiškis, former President of Ice Hockey Federation of Lithuania
- Petras Auštrevičius, MEP
- Alfonsas Butė, Deputy Chairman of the Party of Christian Democracy of Lithuania.
- Kazimieras Juraitis,
- Petras Gražulis, MP
Opinion polls
First round
| Date | Vytenis Andriukaitis | Arvydas Juozaitis | Valentinas Mazuronis | Gitanas Nausėda | Mindaugas Puidokas | Naglis Puteikis | Ingrida Šimonytė | Saulius Skvernelis | Valdemar Tomaševski | Other | Don't Know | Will Not Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2019[7] | 5.5% | 4.8% | 1.2% | 24.6% | 1.9% | 1.5% | 26.2% | 16.6% | 1.8% | 0.4% | 6.9% | 8.6% |
| April 2019[8] | 4.2% | 5% | 0.6% | 27.9% | 0.7% | 2.3% | 24.8% | 14.5% | 1.9% | 0.2% | 8.4% | 9.2% |
| March 2019[9] | 4.7% | 3.6% | – | 23.5% | 0.4% | – | 22% | 18.4% | 1.7% | 1.1% | 9.8% | 7.4% |
| February 2019[10] | 2.8% | 4.5% | – | 27.3% | – | 2.1% | 20% | 16% | – | – | – | – |
| November 2018[11] | – | 4.7% | – | 24.6% | – | 2.4% | 19.7% | 13.2% | – | – | – | – |
| October 2018[12] | – | – | – | 23% | – | 2.4% | 17.5% | 12.8% | – | – | – | – |
| September 2018[13] | 0.3% | 3.3% | 0.3% | 19.7% | – | 1.4% | 8.0% | 16.6% | – | – | 13.9% | – |
| May 2018[14] | 1.6% | – | 1.6% | 22.9% | – | 2.7% | 5.3% | 12.8% | – | – | 10.2% | 11.9% |
| 16-24 November 2017[15][16] | – | – | – | 12% | – | – | 7% | 12.2% | – | – | 32.6% | – |
Results
The first round was narrowly won by former Finance Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, with economist Gitanas Nausėda finishing second. As neither candidate passed the threshold of 50% of votes cast, a run-off was held between Šimonytė and Nausėda on 26 May. Nausėda won the second round with over 66% of the vote.
After finishing a distant third, Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis announced his intention to resign on election night, with his resignation coming into effect on 12 July.[17] Later, it was revealed that Skvernelis will continue his tenure as the Prime Minister until the next election of the Parliament.
| Candidate | Party | First round | Second round | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |||
| Ingrida Šimonytė | Independent[a] | 446,719 | 31.53 | 443,394 | 33.47 | |
| Gitanas Nausėda | Independent | 441,396 | 31.16 | 881,495 | 66.53 | |
| Saulius Skvernelis | Independent[b] | 279,413 | 19.72 | |||
| Vytenis Andriukaitis | Social Democratic Party of Lithuania | 68,118 | 4.81 | |||
| Arvydas Juozaitis | Independent | 66,957 | 4.73 | |||
| Valdemar Tomaševski | Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania | 56,476 | 3.99 | |||
| Mindaugas Puidokas | Independent | 37,036 | 2.61 | |||
| Naglis Puteikis | Lithuanian Centre Party | 11,302 | 0.80 | |||
| Valentinas Mazuronis | Independent | 9,205 | 0.65 | |||
| Total | 1,416,622 | 100.00 | 1,324,889 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 1,416,622 | 99.29 | 1,324,889 | 98.72 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 10,072 | 0.71 | 17,205 | 1.28 | ||
| Total votes | 1,426,694 | 100.00 | 1,342,094 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 2,486,915 | 57.37 | 2,491,021 | 53.88 | ||
| Source: VRK, VRK | ||||||
Notes
- Supported by the Homeland Union
- Supported by the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union