The 2024 Lithuanian parliamentary election was held on 13 and 27 October 2024 to elect the 141 members of the Seimas. Parliament members were elected in 71 single-member constituencies using the two-round system, and the remaining 70 in a single nationwide constituency using proportional representation. The first round was held on 13 October and the second round on 27 October.[1][2][3]
Following the first round of the election, the Social Democrats entered into coalition talks with the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union (LVŽS) and the Union of Democrats "For Lithuania" (DSVL), which had split from the latter. After the second round, the consultations were expanded to include the Liberals' Movement (LS), which had been part of the outgoing conservative-led coalition, and Dawn of Nemunas (PPNA), a new nationalist party that finished in third place overall.[5]
The LSDP eventually reached a deal with DSVL and PPNA to form a coalition government.[6] The Social Democrats' decision to include the Dawn of Nemunas party, whose founder is known for making controversial statements, prompted domestic and international backlash.[7][8]
Other notable changes in the political landscape since 2020 included the establishment of Dawn of Nemunas, led by presidential candidate Remigijus Žemaitaitis after his expulsion from Freedom and Justice due to his antisemitic statements, which grew in popularity after the 2024 presidential election, as well as the poor performance of the Labour Party, which failed to win a deputy in the European Parliament for the first time since its establishment in 2003, and which was subsequently abandoned by several of the party's members of parliament, which led to the collapse of the party's parliamentary group.[11]
Electoral seat allocation
There were 1740 candidates running for seats in the parliament, including 8 mayors, 4 MEPs and 128 current members of the Seimas.[12] Additionally, 700 politicians vied for seats in 71 single-mandate constituencies.[12]
Half of the seats in the 141-member parliament are allocated to party lists that will clear the 5-percent threshold.[12]
Changes to the constitution and new electoral code
After passing amendment of Constitution's article № 56 in April 2022, to be eligible for election, candidates must be at least 21 years old on the election day, not under allegiance to a foreign state and permanently reside in Lithuania,[13] while previously, candidates needed to be at least 25 years old on the election day. Persons serving or due to serve a sentence imposed by the court 65 days before the election are not eligible. Also, judges, citizens performing military service, and servicemen of professional military service and officials of statutory institutions and establishments may not run for election.[14] In addition, a person who has been removed from office through impeachment may be elected after 10 year period after impeachment.[15][16]
The Electoral Code was adopted on 23 June 2022. The Code replaced various electoral acts and introduced several changes to the parliamentary elections. It allowed the establishment more than one overseas constituency and removed a ban of political parties' campaigning on Saturdays (e. g. one day prior to the election).[17] The Electoral Code introduced changes for members to be elected in single-member constituencies. Prior to change, leading candidates needed to obtain over 50 per cent of all votes (including invalid ballots) to be elected in the first round. After the change, leading candidates needed to obtain just over 20 per cent of votes from all registered voters in a particular single-member constituency.[18]
Impeached politicians that will be eligible for reelection
The Seimas has 141 members, elected to a four-year term in parallel voting, with 71 members elected in single-seat constituencies using the two-round system and 70 members elected by proportional representation.[14] The voting in the elections is open to all citizens of Lithuania who are at least 18 years old.
Parliament members in the 71 single-seat constituencies are elected in a majority vote; or per a new provision instituted in 2022, a leading candidate in a constituency is directly elected if they receive the support of one fifth of registered voters.[22] A run-off is held within 15 days, if necessary. The remaining 70 seats are allocated to the participating political parties using the largest remainder method. Parties normally need to receive at least 5% (7% for multi-party electoral lists) of the votes to be eligible for a seat. Candidates take the seats allocated to their parties based on the preference lists submitted before the election and adjusted by preference votes given by the voters.[14]
For the 2024 election, around 2.4 million people were eligible to vote.[23]
Campaign
Announcement
On 9 April 2024 the President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, officially announced 13 October 2024 as the election date. The announcement launched the election campaign, allowing the potential participants to register for the elections, raise funds and campaign in public.[24]
Participating parties
The following is a list of parties which are registered as participants in the election by the Central Election Commission. 23 political parties were eligible to participate in the elections, having submitted their membership rolls before 10 April 2024, in compliance with legal requirements. 20 political parties registered for the elections before the deadline on 22 July 2024. [25] Three parties, Together with the Vytis, Movement for Forests – Young Lithuania and Christian Union, withdrew from the race on their own accord.[26][27][28] On 9 August 2024, 15 different electoral lists were registered. 1,740 candidates participated in the elections: 1,089 men and 651 women.[29]
Party representives drew their ballot numbers in a ceremony in Seimas Palace on 19 August 2024. Number of the People and Justice Union was drawn by the representative of the CEC, due to members failure to participate in the event.[30]
^The party ran as a joint list with several politicians from the parties Young Lithuania and Lithuania - For Everyone, as well as the team of presidential candidate Ignas Vėgėlė. This electoral list will be subject to a 7% coalition barrier.[37]
^Number nine drawn by the Labour Party was selected; Numbers seven and fifteen, drawn by the LKDP and ŽP respectively, were discarded.
Debates
The Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT hosted six televised debate shows, organized together with the Central Electoral Commission (CEC). According to the CEC these were to be divided into two rounds of three debate shows.[46] Each debate included five parties (or electoral lists), and was broadcast on TV and online starting at 9:00 PM. The moderators were LRT journalists Deividas Jursevičius, Rasa Tapinienė [lt], and Nemira Pumprickaitė [lt].[47]
Seven radio debates, hosted by LRT Radijas, were organized along similar lines. Each radio debate included representatives of two or three parties, and was broadcast on FM radio and the LRT website starting at 9:05 AM.[46][47]
Four radio debates dedicated specifically to cultural issues were hosted by LRT Klasika starting at 11:05 AM. Representatives from three or four parties were invited to participate in each of these debates.[46][47]
Furthermore, the youth initiative "Žinau, ką renku" (lit.'I know who I'm voting for') hosted a live debate in cooperation with LRT, which was held on 11 October at 8:00 PM in the courtyard of Lukiškės Prison. All of the leaders of the 15 parties were invited.[47] This youth initiative also hosted individual debates for all 71 single-seat constituencies, which were broadcast on the LRT website.[47]
After the first round of voting on 13 October, 63 of the 71 single-member constituencies remained contested between the top two candidates. Prior to the run-off elections on 27 October to determine the final winners, debates between the run-off candidates were filmed for each of these 63 districts and broadcast on the 15min, TV3, Delfi and Lrytas news portals, as well as the website rinkimai2024.lt. These debates were filmed from 16 to 21 October in the studios of Delfi and Laisvės TV [lt].[48]
Politicians not running
Nine incumbent members of Seimas chose to not run in the elections:[49]
LOESS curve of the polling for the 2024 Lithuanian parliamentary election.
Parliamentary election poll results are listed in the table below in reverse chronological order. The highest percentage figure in each poll is displayed in bold, and its background is shaded in the leading party's colour. The "Lead" column shows the percentage point difference between the two parties with the highest figures.
Candidates advancing to the second round in each constituency
Single-member constituencies – seats won in the first round
Results after the first round
Single-member constituencies – seats won in the second round
Results after the second round
Turnout
Early voting was held from 8–12 October, with turnout recorded at 11.75%.[51] Final turnout following the first round was at 52.2%, an increase from the 47.2% recorded in 2020.[52][53]
On the night of 14 October, Vilija Blinkevičiūtė and Saulius Skvernelis, the leaders of the LSDP and the DSVL respectively, agreed to cooperate in the second round and to form a coalition government afterwards.[60]LVŽS joined the agreement on 15 October.[61] Despite the LSDP ruling out coalition with the PPNA,[62] the latter party pledged to support Blinkevičiūtė becoming prime minister.[63]
On 30 October, Blinkevičiūtė confirmed that she will not be prime minister and will continue to work as a member of the European Parliament, citing her age and health. Gintautas Paluckas became a candidate for prime minister.[56]
On 7 November, the LSDP invited the DSVL and Dawn of Nemunas to form a ruling coalition, which would encompass 86 of the 141 seats in the Seimas.[64] The inclusion of the Dawn of Nemunas party immediately provoked strong negative reactions both domestically and abroad. On 8 November, over 30 non-governmental organizations based in Lithuania signed an open letter against the decision, fearing a negative impact on human rights, democracy and national security,[7][65] and US Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair Ben Cardin released a statement condemning the move.[66][67] The same day, the New York Times also published a story about Dawn of Nemunas, focusing on Žemaitaitis' antisemitic statements.[68][69] Further criticism came from German MPs Michael Roth (chair of the foreign affairs committee) and Roderich Kiesewetter (representative of the main opposition in the same committee),[70]Polish senator Michał Kamiński,[71] and the Israeli embassy.[72]
On 9 November, Žemaitaitis claimed that the foreign reactions were instigated by his political opponents,[73] and Paluckas similarly attributed them to opposing politicians' international connections.[74] Paluckas stated that Žemaitaitis himself would not be offered a cabinet position.[75] On 19 November, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda nominated Paluckas for prime minister.[76]
Other changes
On the day after the second round of the election, Gabrielius Landsbergis announced his resignation as leader of the Homeland Union and as member of the next Seimas. He endorsed Ingrida Šimonytė, the outgoing Prime Minister, for the party leadership. Landsbergis also lost in the Centras-Žaliakalnis single-member constituency, which he represented since 2016, to Simonas Kairys of the Liberals' Movement and fellow member of the Šimonytė Cabinet.[57]Radvilė Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė became interim leader of the party.[77]
After the second round of the election, various parties lost all their seats in the Seimas, including the Labour Party and the Lithuanian Regions Party. On the other hand, the LSDP won 52 seats, its best ever result. It also won single-member constituencies in Kaunas for the first time since 1992.[78]
On 3 November, Aušrinė Armonaitė announced her resignation as leader of the Freedom Party after it failed to win any seats.[79] On 6 November, Jonas Pinskus of the Lithuanian Regions Party also resigned.[80]
^"Seimo narys Bukauskas palieka Darbo partiją, rinkimuose dalyvaus savarankiškai". LRT (in Lithuanian). 22 July 2024. Archived from the original on 1 August 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024. Per kelis mėnesius iš DP pasitraukė buvęs jos pirmininkas pastaraisiais metais Seimo narys Andrius Mazuronis, parlamentarai Viktoras Fiodorovas, Ieva Kačinskaitė-Urbonienė, Valdemaras Valkiūnas. Dėl to subyrėjo „darbiečių" frakcija parlamente. Po šių pokyčių Darbo partijos steigėjas ir ilgametis jos vadovas, buvęs europarlamentaras V. Uspaskichas, pastaruosius dvejus metus aktyviai nedalyvavęs organizacijos veikloje, liepos pradžioje atkūrė narystę partijoje ir tapo laikinuoju jos pirmininku.
^"Seimo rinkimai 2024. LSDP triumfuoja, antri – TS-LKD, treti – "Nemuno Aušra"". Delfi (in Lithuanian). 14 October 2024. Archived from the original on 12 November 2024. Retrieved 14 October 2024. Šiuose rinkimuose pirmą kartą norint laimėti vienmandatę nebebūtina surinkti daugiau nei pusę rinkėjų balsų. 2022 m. įsigaliojusiame Rinkimų kodekse atsirado nuostata, kad išrinktu laikomas daugiausia rinkėjų balsų gavęs kandidatas, kuris surenka ne mažiau kaip vieną penktadalį rinkėjų balsų.
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