2000 Lithuanian parliamentary election
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All 141 seats to the Seimas 71 seats were needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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.[1]
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.[1]
Results
| 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.[2]
Government formation
The Liberal Union, the New Union (Social Liberals), the Centre Union and the Modern Christian Democrats formed a coalition after the election, with Rolandas Paksas appointed as the new Prime Minister and Artūras Paulauskas elected as the Speaker of the Seimas.[1] The coalition was not long-lasting and collapsed in June 2001 amid disagreements over privatisation and other reforms.[3]
References
- ^ a b c Elections held in 2000 Inter-Parliamentary Union
- ^ 2000 Parliamentary Elections University of Essex
- ^ "Brazauskas returns as Lithuanian PM". BBC. 3 July 2001. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
