Presidential elections were held in Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

 in June 2004. In the first round on 13 June, the former President, Valdas Adamkus

Valdas Adamkus

Valdas 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...

, led the former 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...

 Kazimira Prunskienė

Kazimira Prunskiene

Kazimira Danutė Prunskienė was the first Prime Minister of Lithuania after the declaration of independence of March 11, 1990 and Minister of Agriculture in the government of Gediminas Kirkilas....

. Adamkus won Prunskienė in the second round on 27 June.

The elections were held following the impeachment

Impeachment

Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....

 of President Rolandas Paksas

Rolandas Paksas

Rolandas 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...

, who was elected in January 2003. Paksas was impeached for allegedly leaking classified material, and granting citizenship for Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n businessman Jurij Borisov in exchange for financial support. The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania

Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania

The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania is a special court established by the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania of 1992; it began the activities after the adoption of the Law on Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania on February 3, 1993...

 ruled that Paksas cannot seek re-election as president.

The candidates for the presidency are Adamkus, who was President from 1998 to 2003 and who is running as an independent, Prunskienė of the Peasants and New Democratic Party Union

Peasants and New Democratic Party Union

Lithuanian Peasant Popular Union is an Agrarian centre-left political party in Lithuania led by industrial farmer Ramūnas Karbaukis.The party adopted its current name in February 2006...

 (NDP), Vilija Blinkevičiutė of the New Union Party

New Union Party

The New Union Party is a small political party in the United States. It was originally formed in 1974 as the New Unionists, several of whom had been members of Section Minneapolis of Socialist Labor Party of America . As with many such departures since the 1920s, they claimed SLP had become...

 (NS), Petras Auštrevičius (independent), and Česlovas Juršėnas

Ceslovas Juršenas

Česlovas Juršėnas is a Lithuanian politician and the former Speaker of the Seimas, the Lithuanian parliament.In 1955, he graduated from Ignalina secondary school with a gold medal and entered Vilnius University from which he graduated in 1966.During 1960-1964 he was an employee of a newspaper...

 of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP).

The election coincided with the 2004 European Parliament election.