Freedom Party to field mayoral candidates in at least 10 municipalities

Lithuania’s Freedom Party plans to field candidates for mayor in at least 10 municipalities in the 2027 local elections, party leader Vytautas Mitalas said, LRT reported. The party plans to approve its first 10 candidates next week.

Mitalas said the party would also run at least 15 lists for municipal councils, with the total potentially reaching 15 to 18. Candidates for mayor will be approved in Vilnius city and district, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai, Panevėžys, Visaginas, Alytus and Telšiai.

The party has agreed to form joint election lists with the Green Party in Kaunas and the Liberal Movement in Šiauliai. Mitalas said the party was investing more effort in the local elections than it did in 2023, when it narrowly missed winning seats in the councils of Kaunas, Klaipėda and Šiauliai.

The Freedom Party’s Vilnius branch was due to approve its candidate for mayor of the capital on Saturday and present its team for the city council. The party expects 70 candidates to seek seats on the council, more than in the previous local elections.

The party currently has representatives on the councils of Vilnius city, Vilnius district and Telšiai district. It was founded in June 2019 and entered parliament in 2020 with 11 lawmakers, but failed to win seats in the 2024 election. It currently has one member of the European Parliament and 13 municipal councillors.