Lithuanian parliamentary election, 2000

Lithuanian parliamentary election, 2000
Lithuania
8 October 2000

All 141 seats to the Seimas
71 seats were needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Rolandas Paksas Artūras Paulauskas Algirdas Brazauskas
Party Liberal Union New Union LDDP
Last election 1 seat 0 seats 12 seats
Seats won 34 29 26
Seat change +33 +29 +14
Popular vote 253,823 (proportional) 288,895 (proportional) 457,294 (proportional-coalition)
Percentage 17.25% (proportional) 19.64% (proportional) 31.08% (proportional-coalition)

Prime Minister before election

Andrius Kubilius
Homeland Union

Prime Minister-designate

Rolandas Paksas
Liberal Union

Coat of arms of Lithuania
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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]

The Social Democratic coalition of former President Algirdas Brazauskas got the largest share of the popular vote in the nationwide constituency (31 per cent) and the most seats in the Seimas (51 seats for all parties in the coalition), short of the 71 seats needed for the majority. New Union (Social Liberals), led by Artūras Paulauskas, came in second in the nationwide constituency (19.64 per cent) and gained 29 seats in the parliament. The centre-right Liberal Union, led by the Mayor of Vilnius and former Prime Minister Rolandas Paksas, ended up as the largest single party in the parliament, with 34 seats and 17.25 per cent of the vote in the nationwide constituency.

Homeland Union, which had led the government for the previous four years, performed poorly in the elections, with 8.62 per cent of the vote and 8 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 lost the elections in their single-seat constituencies. In the electoral campaign dominated by economic issues, the party was sanctioned 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 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.[2]

Results

Party Proportional Constituency Total
seats
Votes % Seats Votes % Seats
Social-Democratic
Coalition of
Algirdas Brazauskas
Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania457,29431.0812156,35410.661426
Social Democratic Party of Lithuania12120,6728.23719
Union of the Russians of Lithuania34,4460.303
New Democracy Party112,4540.8523
New Union (Social Liberals)[a]288,89519.6418225,87815.411129
Liberal Union of Lithuania[a]253,82317.2516229,43815.651834
Homeland Union – Lithuanian Conservatives126,8508.628104,6317.1419
Christian Democratic Union61,5834.19033,2212.2711
Lithuanian Peasants Party60,0404.08096,8536.6144
Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party45,2273.07069,8274.7622
Lithuanian Centre Union42,0302.86089,8376.1322
Union of Moderate Conservatives29,6152.01042,1162.8711
Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania28,6411.95040,3762.7522
Lithuanian People's Union "For Just Lithuania"21,5831.4705,3230.3600
Lithuanian Liberty Union18,6221.27023,2021.5811
Union of Young Lithuania, New Nationalists and Political Prisoners16,9411.15016,7291.1411
Lithuanian
Nationalist Union
Lithuanian Nationalists Union12,8840.8805,5670.3800
Lithuanian Liberty League4,6850.3200
Lithuanian Party "Social Democracy – 2000"7,2190.49032,3362.2100
Modern Christian-Democratic Union[a]17,9291.2211
Lithuanian Union of Political Prisoners and Deportees8,4950.5800
Homeland People's Party7,0380.4800
National Democratic Party of Lithuania5,0820.3500
Lithuanian Democratic Party3,3230.2300
Lithuanian Socialist Party1,7010.1200
Republican Party1,3800.0900
Lithuanian Justice Party5150.0400
Independents106,8067.2833
Invalid/blank votes68,49673,517
Total1,539,743100701,539,74310071141
Registered voters/turnout2,626,32158.632,626,32158.63
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.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Inter-Parliamentary Union , 2000.
  2. "Brazauskas returns as Lithuanian PM". BBC. 3 July 2001. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  3. 2000 Parliamentary Elections University of Essex

External links

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