Lithuanian parliament backs March 7 date for 2027 local elections

Lithuania’s Seimas on Tuesday approved, at the consideration stage, a draft resolution proposing that the 2027 municipal council and mayoral elections be held on March 7, LRT reported.

The proposed date for the start of the election campaign is October 7, 2026.

The draft was supported by 103 members of parliament, with none voting against and one abstaining. Seimas Speaker Juozas Olekas registered the proposal a month ago. Parliament approved it after its presentation on September 10, with 87 votes in favour and no votes against or abstentions.

Under the Electoral Code, the Seimas must announce regular municipal council and mayoral elections no later than six months before the end of the elected officials’ terms.

If adopted, the resolution would take effect on October 7, 2026, which would also mark the beginning of the campaign for the 2027 local elections.

The Central Electoral Commission had previously said the elections should be held between February 14 and March 14, 2027. Based on the terms of municipal councils and mayors and the practice of the past five local elections, it identified February 28 and March 7 as possible dates.

The commission said choosing either weekend would ensure that neither the election date nor any runoff coincided with public holidays during that period.

The most recent municipal council and mayoral elections were held on March 5, 2023. Turnout in the first round was 48.91 percent for both the mayoral and council elections. Mayoral runoffs were held in 34 municipalities.