Social Democrats win Lithuania’s polls, overcoming centre-right govt

Vilnius: Lithuania’s centre-left opposition parties celebrated victory on Monday after prevailing over the centre-right ruling coalition in the final round of national elections.

With 100 per cent of votes counted from Sunday’s polls, the Social Democrats won 52 seats in the 141-seat parliament, known as the Seimas, ending the four-year rule of the Homeland Union government led by conservative Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonyte.

The Social Democrats will start talks on forming a majority cabinet with two smaller centre-left parties, the Democratic Union and the Union of Peasants and Greens, which won respectively 14 and 8 seats. The coalition is expected to control at least 74 seats.

Šimonyte’s Homeland Union won only 28 seats in the two-round election.

Vilija Blinkeviciute, who heads the Social Democrats, thanked supporters as a cheering crowd celebrated victory in downtown Vilnius on Sunday.