Simasius victory predicted in Vilnius mayoral election

2015-03-14
from wire reports and TBT staff, VILNIUS

Remigijus Simasius, who bookmakers predict will become mayor of Vilnius following the mayor run-off elections on Sunday [Image: delfi.lt]

Bookmakers predict that Remigijus Simasius will win Vilnius's run-off mayoral election this weekend. They also forecast that Visvaldas Matijosaitis would become mayor of Lithuania's second-largest city, Kaunas, and Vytautas Grubliauskas would become mayor of Klaipeda.

The betting company TOP Sport gives a 1.2 coefficient for a victory for Simasius (Liberal Movement) in Vilnius, while a victory for Arturas Zuokas, the incumbent mayor, was given a coefficient of 5. In Kaunas, the current Conservative mayor Andrius Kupcinskas' candidacy was given a 2.8 coefficient, while Matijosaitis received 1.40. In the city of Klaipeda, Vytautas Grubliauskas leads with 1.03, surpassing Agne Bilotaite with 11.

The contest in the city of Siauliai is very tight: the chances of the two competitors, Arturas Visockis and Valerijus Simulikas, are rated as being almost equal - 1.80 and 1.90 respectively.

On 15 March, Sunday, Lithuanians will vote in run-off mayoral and municipal elections. Mayors in Lithuania will, for the first time ever, be elected directly.