Visockas seeks fourth term as Šiauliai rivals eye corruption case

Šiauliai Mayor Artūras Visockas has confirmed he will seek a fourth term, with at least five challengers expected in municipal elections in five months, LRT reports.

Political scientist Audris Narbutas of Kaunas University of Technology considers Visockas the clear favourite but says the corruption case in which the mayor is on trial could weaken his position. The court will not finish hearing the case before the election, but details that have emerged could damage the mayor’s reputation, Narbutas said.

Several politicians have announced plans to run, including Domas Griškevičius, first deputy speaker of parliament; Social Democrat MP Roma Janušonienė; MP Kęstutis Bilius, put forward by the Aušra group; Šiauliai city councillors Martynas Šiurkus, a Conservative, and independent Zakiras Medžidovas; and independent Irma Gajauskaitė.

Narbutas named Griškevičius, a leader of the Democrats for Lithuania party, as Visockas’s strongest rival. Griškevičius won a parliamentary seat in the Šiauliai-based Saulė single-member constituency and has twice been elected to parliament from a single-member constituency, the article says.

Narbutas said the race could become more competitive than the previous two elections, which Visockas won comfortably, and might require a second round. Griškevičius’s candidacy also raises questions about his political future if his party fails to enter parliament at the next parliamentary election and he does not win the mayoral race, the political scientist said.

LRT asked Visockas and the announced candidates about their plans, the city’s main problems and what they would do first if elected. Visockas was the only one who did not share his plans in response, though he later confirmed to the ELTA news agency that he would run. The Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union’s Šiauliai city branch said it had not yet selected a candidate.

Visockas has led Šiauliai since 2015.