The outgoing president of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda, 60, was re-elected today after the end of the second round of presidential elections, according to partial official results, and his rival admitted defeat.
The Electoral Commission indicated that Nauseda received 78% of the votes, after 62% of the ballots had been counted. Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte “congratulates the president-elect of Lithuania”.
The Lithuanian people “have entrusted me with a great mandate of trust and I am well aware that I will have to capitalize on this credit of trust”, Nauseda told the press in Vilnius.
“Now that I have five years of experience, I think I will definitely be able to use this gem correctly, first and foremost to achieve the well-being goals for all residents in Lithuania,” he added.
Nauseda is a centre-right former banker who established himself as a pro-European statesman and staunch defender of Ukraine during his first term. The Lithuanian president is in charge of defense and foreign policy and participates in European Union and NATO summits, but must consult the government and Parliament to appoint senior officials.
These elections are the eighth since Lithuania regained its independence. The two rivals Nauseda and Simonyte have not shown major differences in foreign or defense policy, in fact they agree on the need to increase defense spending in the face of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and are staunch defenders of NATO. Disagreements between the two leaders instead emerge on internal policies, such as the appointment of judges or civil unions for same-sex couples, but also on some economic measures.
Reproduction reserved © Copyright ANSA
