2019 Lithuanian presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Lithuania on 12 May 2019, with a second round held on 26 May 2019.[1] Due to a constitutional limit of two terms in office, incumbent president Dalia Grybauskaitė was unable to run, having won the 2009 and 2014 elections.

2019 Lithuanian presidential election

← 2014 12 May 2019 (first round)
26 May 2019 (second round)
2024 →
Turnout57.37% (first round)
53.88% (second round)
 
Nominee Gitanas Nausėda Ingrida Šimonytė
Party Independent Independent (TS–LKD)
Popular vote 881,495 443,394
Percentage 66.53% 33.47%

First round results by municipality
Nausėda:      30–45%      45%+
Šimonytė:      30–35%      35-40%      40–45%
Skvernelis:      30–45%
Tomaševski:      30–35%      45%+%

President before election

Dalia Grybauskaitė
Independent

Elected President

Gitanas Nausėda
Independent

As no candidate obtained 50% of the vote in the first round, a second round was held between the top two candidates, Ingrida Šimonytė and Gitanas Nausėda. Nausėda was elected with 67% of the vote and was inaugurated as President of Lithuania on 12 July.[2]

Electoral system

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The elections were held using the two-round system. To win in the first round, a candidate required an absolute majority of the vote and either voter turnout to be above 50% or for their vote share to be equivalent to at least one-third of the number of registered voters. If no candidate wins in the first round, a second round is required, featuring the top two candidates.[3]

Candidates

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Approved candidates

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Declined candidates

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Opinion polls

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First round

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Date Vytenis Andriukaitis Arvydas Juozaitis Valentinas Mazuronis Gitanas Nausėda Mindaugas Puidokas Naglis Puteikis Ingrida Šimonytė Saulius Skvernelis Valdemar Tomaševski Other Don't Know Will Not Vote
May 2019[7] 5.5% 4.8% 1.2% 24.6% 1.9% 1.5% 26.2% 16.6% 1.8% 0.4% 6.9% 8.6%
April 2019[8] 4.2% 5% 0.6% 27.9% 0.7% 2.3% 24.8% 14.5% 1.9% 0.2% 8.4% 9.2%
March 2019[9] 4.7% 3.6% 23.5% 0.4% 22% 18.4% 1.7% 1.1% 9.8% 7.4%
February 2019[10] 2.8% 4.5% 27.3% 2.1% 20% 16%
November 2018[11] 4.7% 24.6% 2.4% 19.7% 13.2%
October 2018[12] 23% 2.4% 17.5% 12.8%
September 2018[13] 0.3% 3.3% 0.3% 19.7% 1.4% 8.0% 16.6% 13.9%
May 2018[14] 1.6% 1.6% 22.9% 2.7% 5.3% 12.8% 10.2% 11.9%
16-24 November 2017[15][16] 12% 7% 12.2% 32.6%

Results

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The first round was narrowly won by former Finance Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, with economist Gitanas Nausėda finishing second. As neither candidate passed the threshold of 50% of votes cast, a run-off was held between Šimonytė and Nausėda on 26 May. Nausėda won the second round with over 66% of the vote.

After finishing a distant third, Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis announced his intention to resign on election night, with his resignation coming into effect on 12 July.[17] Later, it was revealed that Skvernelis will continue his tenure as the Prime Minister until the next election of the Parliament.

CandidatePartyFirst roundSecond round
Votes%Votes%
Ingrida ŠimonytėIndependent[a]446,71931.53443,39433.47
Gitanas NausėdaIndependent441,39631.16881,49566.53
Saulius SkvernelisIndependent[b]279,41319.72
Vytenis AndriukaitisSocial Democratic Party of Lithuania68,1184.81
Arvydas JuozaitisIndependent66,9574.73
Valdemar TomaševskiElectoral Action of Poles in Lithuania56,4763.99
Mindaugas PuidokasIndependent37,0362.61
Naglis PuteikisLithuanian Centre Party11,3020.80
Valentinas MazuronisIndependent9,2050.65
Total1,416,622100.001,324,889100.00
Valid votes1,416,62299.291,324,88998.72
Invalid/blank votes10,0720.7117,2051.28
Total votes1,426,694100.001,342,094100.00
Registered voters/turnout2,486,91557.372,491,02153.88
Source: VRK, VRK

Notes

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  1. ^ Supported by the Homeland Union
  2. ^ Supported by the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union

References

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  1. ^ "Seimas announced the dates for the 2019 elections". Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  2. ^ Gitanas Nausėda Elected as the New Lithuanian President for a Five Year Term
  3. ^ Lithuania: Election for President IFES
  4. ^ "R. Valatka. Kitas premjeras ir kitas prezidentas – tas pats S. Skvernelis?". delfi.lt.
  5. ^ "Žygimantas Pavilionis is not going to participate in the presidential elections" (in Lithuanian). 15min.lt. 2018-09-17.
  6. ^ "Prezidento posto nesieksiantis Visvaldas Matijošaitis: "Apsisprendžiau per atostogas"". 15min.lt.
  7. ^ "Last rankings before the election: The leader has changed, the two candidates have decided firmly" (in Lithuanian).
  8. ^ "Recent Presidential Ratings: The Real Nervous War Begins" (in Lithuanian).
  9. ^ "Latest Presidential Rankings: One of the top three leaders has risen, the other has gone" (in Lithuanian).
  10. ^ "Prezidentiniuose reitinguose ryškėja du lyderiai" (in Lithuanian). delfi.lt. 2019-02-23.
  11. ^ "Naujausi prezidentiniai reitingai: į viršų lipa du kandidatai" (in Lithuanian). delfi.lt. 2018-11-24.
  12. ^ "Prezidento rinkimai: trejetukas keičiasi – į priekį veržiasi I. Šimonytė" (in Lithuanian). diena.lt. 2018-10-20.
  13. ^ "Kandidatų į prezidentus reitingai jau keičiasi: artėja didžiųjų permainų metas" (in Lithuanian). delfi.lt. 2018-09-13.
  14. ^ "Naujausi reitingai: vieno iš kandidatų sprendimas gali situaciją pakeisti iš esmės" (in Lithuanian). delfi.lt. 2018-05-21.
  15. ^ "Apklausa: Prezidento rinkimuose gyventojai palaikytų Saulių Skvernelį ir Gitaną Nausėdą". LZINIOS. Archived from the original on 2018-09-18.
  16. ^ "Kas bus Prezidentas? Apklausos rezultatai". Rokiškis Rabinovičius (in Lithuanian). 2017-10-17.
  17. ^ "Lithuanian PM to quit in election upset". BBC News. 2019-05-13. Retrieved 2019-05-13.