Lithuanian parliamentary election, 2000

Lithuanian parliamentary election, 2000

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

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 Lithuania	457,294	31.08	12	156,354	10.66	14	26
	Social Democratic Party of Lithuania			12	120,672	8.23	7	19
	Union of the Russians of Lithuania			3	4,446	0.3	0	3
	New Democracy Party			1	12,454	0.85	2	3
New Union (Social Liberals)^[a]		288,895	19.64	18	225,878	15.41	11	29
Liberal Union of Lithuania^[a]		253,823	17.25	16	229,438	15.65	18	34
Homeland Union – Lithuanian Conservatives		126,850	8.62	8	104,631	7.14	1	9
Christian Democratic Union		61,583	4.19	0	33,221	2.27	1	1
Lithuanian Peasants Party		60,040	4.08	0	96,853	6.61	4	4
Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party		45,227	3.07	0	69,827	4.76	2	2
Lithuanian Centre Union		42,030	2.86	0	89,837	6.13	2	2
Union of Moderate Conservatives		29,615	2.01	0	42,116	2.87	1	1
Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania		28,641	1.95	0	40,376	2.75	2	2
Lithuanian People's Union "For Just Lithuania"		21,583	1.47	0	5,323	0.36	0	0
Lithuanian Liberty Union		18,622	1.27	0	23,202	1.58	1	1
Union of Young Lithuania, New Nationalists and Political Prisoners		16,941	1.15	0	16,729	1.14	1	1
Lithuanian Nationalist Union	Lithuanian Nationalists Union	12,884	0.88	0	5,567	0.38	0	0
	Lithuanian Liberty League				4,685	0.32	0	0
Lithuanian Party "Social Democracy – 2000"		7,219	0.49	0	32,336	2.21	0	0
Modern Christian-Democratic Union^[a]		–	–	–	17,929	1.22	1	1
Lithuanian Union of Political Prisoners and Deportees		–	–	–	8,495	0.58	0	0
Homeland People's Party		–	–	–	7,038	0.48	0	0
National Democratic Party of Lithuania		–	–	–	5,082	0.35	0	0
Lithuanian Democratic Party		–	–	–	3,323	0.23	0	0
Lithuanian Socialist Party		–	–	–	1,701	0.12	0	0
Republican Party		–	–	–	1,380	0.09	0	0
Lithuanian Justice Party		–	–	–	515	0.04	0	0
Independents		–	–	–	106,806	7.28	3	3
Invalid/blank votes		68,496	–	–	73,517	–	–	–
Total		1,539,743	100	70	1,539,743	100	71	141
Registered voters/turnout		2,626,321	58.63	–	2,626,321	58.63	–	–
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. 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

• The Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Lithuania (English) (Lithuanian)