Elections in Lithuania
Encyclopedia
Elections in Lithuania gives information on election
and election results in Lithuania
.
Lithuania elects on national level a head of state
—the president
—and a legislature
. The president is elected for a five year term by the people. The parliament
(Lietuvos Respublikos Seimas) has 141 members, elected to a four year term, with 71 members elected in single-seat constituencies and 70 members elected by proportional representation
.
Lithuania has a multi-party system, with numerous parties
in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties
must work with each other to form coalition government
s.
Upcoming elections:
coalition, led by prime minister
Andrius Kubilius
. It controls 71 of the 141 seats, and consists of
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
and election results in Lithuania
Politics of Lithuania
Politics of Lithuania takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Lithuania is the head of government, and of a multi-party system....
.
Lithuania elects on national level a head of state
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
—the president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
—and a legislature
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
. The president is elected for a five year term by the people. The parliament
Seimas
The Seimas is the unicameral Lithuanian parliament. It has 141 members that are elected for a four-year term. About half of the members of this legislative body are elected in individual constituencies , and the other half are elected by nationwide vote according to proportional representation...
(Lietuvos Respublikos Seimas) has 141 members, elected to a four year term, with 71 members elected in single-seat constituencies and 70 members elected by proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
.
Lithuania has a multi-party system, with numerous parties
Political Parties
Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy is a book by sociologist Robert Michels, published in 1911 , and first introducing the concept of iron law of oligarchy...
in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties
Political Parties
Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy is a book by sociologist Robert Michels, published in 1911 , and first introducing the concept of iron law of oligarchy...
must work with each other to form coalition government
Coalition government
A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
s.
List of elections
Past elections:- Seimas (parliament): 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008
- Local/municipal: 1995, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2011
- Europarliament: 2004 (13 seats), 2009 (12 seats)
- Referenda: 2003 (EU: yes); 2008 (IgnalinaIgnalinaIgnalina is a city in eastern Lithuania, famous for the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant in nearby Visaginas. It is said that Ignalina name got its name from Ignas and Lina, two lovers with quite popular Lithuanian names. Even though there are archeological evidences that people lived in Ignalina area...
nuclear plant: ?) - President: 1993 (Algirdas BrazauskasAlgirdas BrazauskasAlgirdas Mykolas Brazauskas was the first President of a newly independent post-Soviet Union Lithuania from 1993 to 1998 and Prime Minister from 2001 to 2006....
), 1997 (Valdas AdamkusValdas AdamkusValdas Adamkus was President of Lithuania from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2004 to 2009.In Lithuania, the President's tenure lasts for five years; Adamkus' first term in office began on February 26, 1998 and ended on February 28, 2003, following his defeat by Rolandas Paksas in the next...
), 2002 (Rolandas PaksasRolandas PaksasRolandas Paksas is a Lithuanian politician who was President of Lithuania from 2003 to 2004. He was previously Prime Minister of Lithuania in 1999 and again from 2000 to 2001, and he also served as Mayor of Vilnius from 1997 to 1999 and again from 2000 to 2001...
-impeached 2004), 2004 (Valdas AdamkusValdas AdamkusValdas Adamkus was President of Lithuania from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2004 to 2009.In Lithuania, the President's tenure lasts for five years; Adamkus' first term in office began on February 26, 1998 and ended on February 28, 2003, following his defeat by Rolandas Paksas in the next...
), 2009 (Dalia GrybauskaitėDalia GrybauskaitėDalia Grybauskaitė is the current President of Lithuania, inaugurated on 12 July 2009. She had previously been Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Finance Minister, and European Commissioner for Financial Programming and the Budget...
)
Upcoming elections:
- Seimas (parliament): 2012
- Europarliament: 2014
- President: 2014
Latest elections
Governing majority
Today, there is a centre-rightCentre-right
The centre-right or center-right is a political term commonly used to describe or denote individuals, political parties, or organizations whose views stretch from the centre to the right on the left-right spectrum, excluding far right stances. Centre-right can also describe a coalition of centrist...
coalition, led by prime minister
Prime Minister of Lithuania
The Prime Minister of Lithuania is the head of the executive arm of Lithuania's government, and is chosen by the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas. The modern office of Prime Minister was established in 1990, although the official title was "Chairperson of the Council of Ministers" until 25...
Andrius Kubilius
Andrius Kubilius
Andrius Kubilius is a Lithuanian politician who has been Prime Minister of Lithuania since 2008. He previously served as Prime Minister from 1999 to 2000. He is the leader of the conservative political party Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats.- Biography :Kubilius was born at Vilnius...
. It controls 71 of the 141 seats, and consists of
- Homeland Union (46 seats);
- Liberal and Centre UnionLiberal and Centre UnionThe Liberal and Centre Union , abbreviated to LiCS, is a centre-right, liberal and conservative liberal political party in Lithuania. The party has thirteen seats in the Seimas, making it the fourth-largest party in the legislature....
(13 seats); - Liberal Movement (12 seats).