The left opposition wins the elections in Lithuania: will this change the country's support for Ukraine?

Opposition social democrats triumphed in the parliamentary elections in Lithuania held on October 27, driven by frustration over the cost of living and concerns about potential threats from neighboring Russia.

This was reported by RBK-Ukraine citing data from Reuters.

Official results indicated that the left-leaning coalition leads with 52 seats in the assembly out of 141 members. The ruling party "Homeland Union" came in second with 28 seats. Preliminary official data suggests that the party "For Lithuania" had a strong chance of securing 14 seats in parliament, while the Farmers and Greens Union is projected to gain eight seats.

The leader of the Social Democratic Party, Vilija Blinkeviciute, told reporters that she believes her party will achieve a parliamentary majority along with its potential coalition partners: "For Lithuania" and the "Farmers and Greens Union."

She declined to confirm whether she would seek the position of Prime Minister, stating: "We will discuss this within the party, weighing all the pros and cons."

Blinkeviciute has repeatedly stated that Lithuania's foreign policy will not change, and support for Ukraine will remain a priority for the authorities.

Elections in Lithuania

Lithuania, with a population of 2.9 million, employs a hybrid electoral system, where half of the parliament was elected by popular vote on October 13. The remaining seats were determined on October 21 in a second-round vote by districts between the two leading candidates, a process that favors larger parties.

The popularity of the right-leaning three-party coalition led by Ingrida Simonyte has been undermined by inflation, which exceeded 20% two years ago, a decline in the quality of public services, and an increasing gap between the rich and the poor.

During the election campaign, the focus was on domestic economic issues: the social democrats promised to tackle rising inequality by raising taxes on wealthier Lithuanians to help fund increased healthcare and social support expenditures.

However, national security is also a significant concern for Lithuania, situated on the eastern flank of NATO and the European Union, bordering the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and Belarus, a close ally of Moscow.

According to NATO estimates, Lithuania is expected to spend about 3% of its GDP on its armed forces this year, making it the sixth highest spender among the military alliance.

According to a survey by the Razumkov Center, among all countries in the world, Ukrainians have the most favorable view of Lithuania.