2000 Lithuanian parliamentary election

2000 Lithuanian parliamentary election

8 October 2000

All 141 seats to the Seimas 71 seats were needed for a majority

Party Leader % Seats +/– NS Artūras Paulauskas 15.6% 29 New LLS Rolandas Paksas 15.4% 34 +33 LDDP Česlovas Juršėnas 10.7% 26 +14 LSDP Vytenis Andriukaitis 8.2% 19 New TS–LKD Vytautas Landsbergis 7.1% 9 −61 Peasants Party Ramūnas Karbauskis 6.6% 4 +3 Centre Union Romualdas Ozolas 6.1% 2 −11 LKDP Zigmas Zinkevičius 4.8% 2 −14 NKS Gediminas Vagnorius 2.9% 1 New LLRA Valdemar Tomaševski 2.8% 2 +1 KDS Kazys Bobelis 2.3% 1 0 Liberty Union Vytautas Šustauskas 1.6% 1 +1 MKD Vytautas Bogušis 1.2% 1 New Young Lithuania Stanislovas Buškevičius 1.1% 1 0 New Democracy Kazimira Prunskienė 0.8% 3 New Union of Russians Sergej Dmitrijev 0.3% 3 +3 Independent – 7.3% 3 −1 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. Prime Minister before Prime Minister-designate Andrius Kubilius TS–LKD Rolandas Paksas LLS

Parliamentary elections were held in Lithuania on 8 October 2000. All 141 seats in the Seimas were up for election, 71 of them in single-seat constituencies based on first-past-the-post voting; the remaining 70, in a nationwide constituency based on proportional representation. Altogether, around 700 candidates competed in the single-seat constituencies, while over 1,100 candidates were included in the electoral lists for the nationwide constituency.

Electoral system

The 141 members of the Seimas were elected by parallel voting; 70 were elected by proportional representation in a single nationwide constituency, with 71 elected by first-past-the-post voting in single-member constituencies. Previously members from the single-member constituencies had been elected using the two-round system, but the electoral system was changed prior to the elections to scrap the second round and allow members to be elected by plurality. These changes had been introduced by the Homeland Union and passed by the Seimas on 19 July 2000. Although President Valdas Adamkus vetoed the Act, the veto was overturned and the changes implemented.

Results

The Social Democratic coalition of former President Algirdas Brazauskas received the largest share of the popular vote in the nationwide constituency (31 per cent) and won the most seats in the Seimas (51 seats), but short of the 71 seats needed for the majority. New Union (Social Liberals), led by Artūras Paulauskas, came second in the nationwide constituency (19.64 per cent), winning 29 seats in the parliament. The centre-right Liberal Union, led by the Mayor of Vilnius and former Prime Minister Rolandas Paksas, became as the largest single party in the parliament, with 34 seats and 17.25 per cent of the vote in the nationwide constituency.

The Homeland Union, which had led the government for the previous four years, performed poorly in the elections, receiving only 8.62 per cent of the vote and winning eight seats, down from more than 30% of the vote and 70 seats in the previous elections. Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius and many other prominent ministers were beaten in their constituencies. In the electoral campaign dominated by economic issues, the party was punished by voters for the economic recession and high unemployment, as well as its austerity policy. The Social Democratic coalition, on the other hand, had promised the end to austerity, including lower taxes and higher social spending.

Party		Proportional			Constituency			Total seats
		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats
Social-Democratic Coalition of Algirdas Brazauskas	Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania	457,294	31.08	12	156,354	10.66	14	26
	Social Democratic Party of Lithuania			12	120,672	8.23	7	19
	Union of the Russians of Lithuania			3	4,446	0.3	0	3
	New Democracy Party			1	12,454	0.85	2	3
New Union (Social Liberals)[a]		288,895	19.64	18	225,878	15.41	11	29
Liberal Union of Lithuania[a]		253,823	17.25	16	229,438	15.65	18	34
Homeland Union – Lithuanian Conservatives		126,850	8.62	8	104,631	7.14	1	9
Christian Democratic Union		61,583	4.19	0	33,221	2.27	1	1
Lithuanian Peasants Party		60,040	4.08	0	96,853	6.61	4	4
Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party		45,227	3.07	0	69,827	4.76	2	2
Lithuanian Centre Union		42,030	2.86	0	89,837	6.13	2	2
Union of Moderate Conservatives		29,615	2.01	0	42,116	2.87	1	1
Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania		28,641	1.95	0	40,376	2.75	2	2
Lithuanian People's Union "For Just Lithuania"		21,583	1.47	0	5,323	0.36	0	0
Lithuanian Liberty Union		18,622	1.27	0	23,202	1.58	1	1
Union of Young Lithuania, New Nationalists and Political Prisoners		16,941	1.15	0	16,729	1.14	1	1
Lithuanian Nationalist Union	Lithuanian Nationalists Union	12,884	0.88	0	5,567	0.38	0	0
	Lithuanian Liberty League				4,685	0.32	0	0
Lithuanian Party "Social Democracy – 2000"		7,219	0.49	0	32,336	2.21	0	0
Modern Christian-Democratic Union[a]		–	–	–	17,929	1.22	1	1
Lithuanian Union of Political Prisoners and Deportees		–	–	–	8,495	0.58	0	0
Homeland People's Party		–	–	–	7,038	0.48	0	0
National Democratic Party of Lithuania		–	–	–	5,082	0.35	0	0
Lithuanian Democratic Party		–	–	–	3,323	0.23	0	0
Lithuanian Socialist Party		–	–	–	1,701	0.12	0	0
Republican Party		–	–	–	1,380	0.09	0	0
Lithuanian Justice Party		–	–	–	515	0.04	0	0
Independents		–	–	–	106,806	7.28	3	3
Invalid/blank votes		68,496	–	–	73,517	–	–	–
Total		1,539,743	100	70	1,539,743	100	71	141
Registered voters/turnout		2,626,321	58.63	–	2,626,321	58.63	–	–
Source: University of Essex

^a Two Modern Christian-Democratic Union candidates were elected in the proportional vote, having run on the lists of the New Union (Social Liberals) and the Liberal Union of Lithuania.

Aftermath

After disastrious results leaders of the Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party and the Lithuanian Centre Union, Algirdas Saudargas and Romualdas Ozolas, respectively, tendered resignation from their positions. Poor results would also affect other minor parties. Homeland People's Party leader Laima Liucija Andrikienė proposed merger of all center-right parties. It would happen gradually from 2001 to 2008, when the Homeland Union (which received their worst result ever in these elections) would merge with most them. Poor results also cause disintegration of the Lithuanian Centre Union, which would merge with the Liberal Union of Lithuania in 2003.

Government formation

The Liberal Union, the New Union (Social Liberals), the Centre Union, the Modern Christian Democrats and the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania formed a coalition after the election (these parties combined and two MPs, who joined New Union's parliamentary group, had 68 members), with Rolandas Paksas appointed as the new Prime Minister and Artūras Paulauskas elected as the Speaker of the Seimas. The coalition was not long-lasting and collapsed in June 2001 amid disagreements over privatisation and other reforms.

External links

• The Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Lithuania (in English and Lithuanian)