Visockas plans fourth term as two mayors weigh bids

Šiauliai Mayor Artūras Visockas plans to seek a fourth consecutive term, while the mayors of Širvintos district and Kazlų Rūda have yet to decide whether to run again, LRT reported.

Visockas, who has led Šiauliai since 2015, told news agency ELTA that he would run, saying local self-government was weakening and needed strong leaders. He said he wanted to continue work carried out during his three terms, adding that Šiauliai had become a model city and a leader in areas including the use of European Union funds.

In the 2023 local elections, Visockas won almost 66% of the vote in the first round.

Kazlų Rūda Mayor Mantas Varaška, in office since 2019, said he had not decided whether to seek re-election and expected to make up his mind soon. He said he was weighing voter support against the time and resources the job took from his family and personal life. Varaška received almost 72% of the first-round vote in 2023. He also announced that year that he would run in the 2024 presidential election, but later withdrew.

Širvintos district Mayor Živilė Pinskuvienė said her political committee would decide on October 15 and announce its decisions then. She said she valued residents’ trust and believed it reflected her work. Pinskuvienė has led the district since 2015 and won 78.27% of the vote in 2023. She left the Lithuanian Regions Party in 2024.

The next municipal council and mayoral elections are scheduled for March 7, 2027. Since the 2023 elections, mayors have been subject to a term limit: anyone who has served three consecutive terms cannot be elected to a fourth consecutive term.