Lithuania holding presidential vote, referendum on citizenship

By Leila Nezirevic

LONDON (AA) – A large number of Lithuania's nearly 2.4 million registered voters are voting on Sunday to elect the next president for a five-year term, as well as a referendum on whether people can have multiple nationalities.

Security concerns dominate presidential election votes, with all of the major candidates agreeing that the Baltic country should increase spending on defense.

Candidates pushed similar narratives throughout their campaigns, claiming that Lithuania and other Baltic states could be Moscow's next targets.

Eight candidates are vying for the head of the state position, with recent polls indicating that incumbent President Gitanas Nauseda, a moderate conservative and staunch supporter of Ukraine in its two-year war with Russia, is the front-runner.

However, with seven other candidates running, it is unlikely that any of them will receive the 50% of the votes required to win on Sunday, necessitating a runoff in two weeks.

Nauseda's main opponents are populist lawyer Ignas Vegele and incumbent Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte.

According to the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, the country's population was 2,864,459, with 2,491,041 registered voters and an average turnout of 49.82% in the 2019 presidential election.

Simonyte, a former finance minister, lost the 2019 presidential election to Nauseda, but she became prime minister in 2020.

Populist politician Vegele gained popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic by criticizing the government’s lockdown and vaccination policies.

According to a recent Delfi/Spinter Tyrimai poll, Nauseda has 29% of voters’ support, with his strongest challenger Simonyte receiving 14%.

The Lithuanian president's primary responsibilities include overseeing foreign and security policies and serving as supreme commander of the armed forces.

Polls close at 8 p.m. local time (1700GMT), with results expected after midnight. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, a runoff election is likely to be held on May 26.