2009 Lithuanian presidential election
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Presidential elections were held in Lithuania on 17 May 2009. A run-off would have been held on 7 June 2009,[1] but was not necessary as Dalia Grybauskaitė was elected with 69 percent of the vote, with voter turnout just over the 50% threshold for the result to be validated.[2] This is the largest margin of victory in a direct presidential election in Lithuania. Grybauskaitė took office on 12 July as the country's first female president.
This was only the second time since the restoration of independence that a Lithuanian president was elected without the need for a runoff, the first being in 1993, when Algirdas Brazauskas was elected with 61 percent in the first round.
Candidates
The Electoral Commission registered 14 candidates for the elections, whilst Vladimir Romanov's application was rejected. However, six candidates (Jonas Jankauskas, Vytautas Kundrotas, Algimantas Matulevičius, Algirdas Pilvelis, Vidmantas Sadauskas and Zigmas Vaišvila) failed to collect the 20,000 signatures required, and Seimas Speaker Arūnas Valinskas (National Resurrection Party) withdrew his candidacy.[3]
Seven candidates collected enough signatures to participate in the elections:
- Dalia Grybauskaitė, incumbent European Commissioner for Financial Programming and the Budget, former Minister of Finance (2001–2004)
- Valentinas Mazuronis (Order and Justice), member of the Seimas since 2004
- Kazimiera Prunskienė, first Prime Minister of Lithuania (1990–1991) and former Minister of Agriculture (2004–2008)
- Česlovas Jezerskas, Brigadier General of Lithuanian Armed Forces and wrestler
- Valdemar Tomaševski (Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania), member of the Seimas since 2000
- Loreta Graužinienė (Labour Party), member of the Seimas since 2004
- Algirdas Butkevičius (Social Democratic Party), former Minister of Finance (2004–2005) and former Minister of Transport and Communications (2006–2008)
Grybauskaitė was supported by the Homeland Union and Liberal Movement.
Opinion polls
According to the opinion polls, Grybauskaitė was the undisputed leader in the race for the Presidency.[4][5]
Results
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dalia Grybauskaitė | Independent | 950,407 | 69.09 | |
| Algirdas Butkevičius | Social Democratic Party | 162,665 | 11.82 | |
| Valentinas Mazuronis | Order and Justice | 84,656 | 6.15 | |
| Valdemar Tomaševski | Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania | 65,255 | 4.74 | |
| Kazimira Prunskienė | Lithuanian Peasant Popular Union | 53,778 | 3.91 | |
| Loreta Graužinienė | Labour Party | 49,686 | 3.61 | |
| Česlovas Jezerskas | Independent | 9,191 | 0.67 | |
| Total | 1,375,638 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 1,375,638 | 98.73 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 17,640 | 1.27 | ||
| Total votes | 1,393,278 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 2,691,603 | 51.76 | ||
| Source: Central Election Commission | ||||
References
- ^ Usackas pulls out of presidential race Baltic Times, 17 February 2009
- ^ Lithuania gets first woman leader BBC News, 18 May 2009
- ^ A.Valinskui mesti kaltinimai dėl parašų klastojimo sudomino ir Generalinę prokuratūrą (2 video, dar papildyta) Lrytas, 31 August 2009
- ^ Po D.Grybauskaitės apsisprendimo politologai nemato jai konkurencijos Lrytas, 26 February 2009
- ^ Grybauskaite is Favourite Contender in Lithuania Angus Reid Public Opinion, 11 March 2009
External links
- 2009 Lithuanian presidential elections VRK (in Lithuanian)
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