Presidential elections were held in Lithuania in December 1997 and January 1998.[1] In the first round on 21 December, the independent candidate Artūras Paulauskas led the former U.S.civil servantValdas Adamkus but neither received a majority of the vote, resulting in a run-off being held on 4 January 1998, in which Adamkus defeated Paulauskas.
Adamkus, who had lived in the US from 1949 to 1997, faced a legal battle in the Lithuanian courts. Doubts arose whether he was eligible to run for the presidency due to having spent over half a century abroad, raising the possibility that he might not meet minimum residency requirements. However, the court resolved the case in Adamkus' favor and no other obstacles remained other than his American citizenship, which he officially renounced at the American embassy in Vilnius.[2]
In 1997 President Algirdas Mykolas Brazauskas announced that he would not seek re-election and endorsed Paulauskas.
In the first round, Artūras Paulauskas won in nearly all every municipalities (except for Kaunas and Klaipėda districts' municipalities). Valdas Adamkus won in latter districts' municipalities. Although Vytautas Landsbergis hadn't won in any municipality, he won 41.9 per cent of the votes cast in foreign representations.
After the first round of elections, Vytautas Landsbergis endorsed Valdas Adamkus.
In the second round, votes for Artūras Paulauskas and Valdas Adamkus were cast almost equally. Valdas Adamkus won in all districts' municipalities in the Klaipėda County and along Neman River up until Alytus. Adamkus also received the most votes in Šiauliai, Panevėžys, Panevėžys, Jonava and Utena districts' municipalities. Artūras Paulauskas won in the remaining districts' municipalities, including Alytus and Vilnius.