General Information
Republic of Lithuania: Parliament, 9 October 2016
At stake in this election:
- 141 seats in the Seimas (Parliament)
Note on the results: The above results are incomplete. Several constituencies are undecided and will require a runoff vote to be on 23 October.
Description of government structure:
- Chief of State: President Dalia GRYBAUSKAITE (since 12 July 2009)
- Head of Government: Prime Minister Algirdas BUTKEVICIUS (since 22 November 2012)
- Assembly: Lithuania has a unicameral Seimas (Parliament) composed of 141 seats with members serving 4-year terms.
Description of electoral system:
- In the Seimas, 71 members are directly elected in single-seat constituencies by absolute majority vote[1] and 70 are directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation vote, with an electoral of 5% for political parties, and 7% for multiple-party electoral lists.
Last Election:
- Elections were last held on 14 October 2012. The Lithuanian Social Democratic Party won 38 seats, the Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats took 33, and the Labor Party took 29. The Order and Justice Party won 12, the Liberal Movement of the Republic of Lithuania won 10, Lithuanian Poles Electoral Action won 8 and the Way of Courage won 7. The Lithuanian Peasant’s Party took 1 seat and three independent candidates won seats in 2012.
Main parties in the election:
- Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP)/Lietuvos Socialdemokratų Partija
- Leader: Algirdas BUTKEVIČIUS
- Seats won in last election: 38
- Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD)/Tėvynės Sąjunga – Lietuvos Krikščionys Demokratai
- Leader: Gabrielius LANDSBERGIS
- Seats won in last election: 33
- Labour Party (DP)/Darbo Partija
- Leader: Valentinas MAZURONIS
- Seats won in last election: 29
- Order and Justice Party (TT)/Partija Tvarka ir Teisingumas
- Leader: Rolandas PAKSAS
- Seats won in last election: 12
- Liberal Movement (LS)/Liberalų Sąjūdis
- Leader: Eligijus MASIULIS
- Seats won in last election: 10
- Lithuanian Poles Electoral Action (LLRA)/Lietuvos Lenkų Rinkimų Akcija
- Leader: Valdemar TOMAŠEVSKI
- Seats won in last election: 8
- Way of Courage (DK)/Drąsos Kelias
- Leader: Jonas VARKALA
- Seats won in last election: 7
- Lithuanian Peasants and Green Union (LVZS)/Lietuvos Valstiečių ir Žaliųjų Sąjunga
- Leader: Ramūnas KARBAUSKIS
- Seats won in last election: 0
Population and number of registered voters:
· Population: 2,884,433 (July 2015 est.)
· Registered Voters: 2,559,398 (2014)
Gender Data:
· Female Population: 1,555,506 (July 2015 est.)
· Is Lithuania a signatory to CEDAW: No
· Has Lithuania ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (18 January 1984)
· Gender Quota: No (there are political parties that have adopted voluntary quotas)
· Female candidates in this election: Yes
· Number of Female Parliamentarians: 34 (24.11%)
· Human Development Index Position: 37
· Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Low
Disability Data:
· Is Lithuania a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)
· Has Lithuania ratified CRPD: Yes (18 August 2010)
· Population with a disability: 432,664 (est.)
[1] In October 2015, the Constitutional Court of Lithuania declared the electoral districts to be unconstitutional, with the largest constituency being 50% larger than the smallest. In December 2015, the Election Commission re-districted the 71 single member seats to ensure more equitable populations in each district.