Lithuania confirms Nalšia North election results and sets runoff

Lithuania’s Central Electoral Commission has confirmed the first-round results of the early parliamentary election in the Nalšia North constituency, with a runoff set for November 22. LRT reported the decision, citing BNS.

No candidate won the required majority, so the commission declared that no MP had been elected. The runoff will pit Gintautas Kindurys of the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union, who received 21.30 percent of valid votes, against Liberal candidate Mėta Paulauskė, who received 17.45 percent.

A total of 9,164 people voted, giving turnout of 32.2 percent. The constituency includes Ignalina district municipality, Visaginas and three polling districts in Zarasai district municipality: Salakas, Smalvos and Turmantas.

Advance voting begins on November 17. Voting in hospitals and care homes starts the following day, while home voting is scheduled for November 20 and 21. Election day is Sunday, November 22.

The commission rejected a complaint from Dalia Štraupaitė, the third-place candidate from the Union of the People and Justice, who asked it to invalidate the results and call a new election. She alleged that some voters were not informed of changes to polling station addresses, that information about some stations was missing from a guide, and that voters had been redirected between stations. She also said some people with disabilities had not been able to vote at home and questioned the share of postal and advance votes.

The commission said it had received no complaints from voters who were unable to vote. The constituency commission had also rejected Štraupaitė’s complaint, finding no violations.

The early election was held after Jevgenijus Šuklinas, the constituency’s elected member of parliament, died in May.