Parliamentary elections kick off in Lithuania

Vilnius, Oct 13 The first round of Lithuania's parliamentary elections began on Sunday, with voters set to elect 141 members to the Seimas, the country's unicameral parliament, for a four-year term.

According to the Central Electoral Commission (VRK), 1,740 candidates are competing in the elections, Xinhua news agency reported.

Polling stations opened at 07:00 a.m. (0400 GMT) and will close at 20:00 p.m. (1700 GMT).

In the 141-seat Seimas, 71 members are elected through single-seat constituencies in two rounds of voting, and the remaining 70 members are chosen by proportional representation from a single nationwide multi-seat constituency.

To enter the Seimas, a party must receive at least 5 per cent of the total votes, while electoral coalitions need a minimum of 7 per cent.

In single-seat constituencies, a candidate must secure at least 20 per cent of all eligible votes to win outright. If no candidate achieves this threshold, the top two candidates will face a run-off on October 27.

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