Municipal elections put new parties on the map

VILNIUS – Lithuania's formerly bipolar political landscape saw some noticeable changes March 20 with nationwide municipal elections. Voters in Lithuania's 62 municipalities expressed their disaffection for the left wing Lithuanian Democratic Labor Party as well as Vytautas Landsbergis' Conservatives by voting heavily for the new parties.

Voter participation numbers are not final, but it is estimated that 53 percent of eligible voters turned up at voting stations. Just over 40 percent voted in the last municipal elections three years ago.

Far and away the biggest winner was the New Union (Social-Liberals) led by charismatic Arturas Paulauskas, winning 16 percent of all votes, thanks to an effective television campaign. The Lithuanian Peasants Party came in second at just over 10 percent on the strength of the farming vote and its coalition with the Christian Democratic Union. Surprisingly, the Conservatives did manage to place third with 10 percent.

As expected, Rolandas Paksas' Liberal Union easily won most of the Vilnius vote by taking 18 of the 51 seats on the town council. All stands between him and the mayor's chair is for him to decide with which of the smaller parties he will form a stable coalition so as to garner a majority.

This is the case in many municipalities. Lithuanians vote for their parties and a short-list of candidates but it is the local taryba, or town council, that elects a mayor from within its ranks. There will be a lot of political jockeying in the coming 10 days as Lithuania's town councils go through this process.

Most surprising was the victory of the Lithuanian Freedom Union in Kaunas. It's populist leader, Vytautas Sustauskas, is best known for organizing street protests and for his ability to grab headlines.

"I doubt that Sustauskas brand of politics will translate into proper leadership when he takes office. A mayor needs to have good analytical and negotiation skills, not just be good at organizing rallies," said Lauras Bielinis, a political scientist speaking on local Vilnius television.

"I wouldn't want to be living in Kaunas today," said Rolandas Paksas, speaking on the same program.

Bielinis also explained the better-than-expected results by the Conservatives.

"There is a segment of Lithuanian society that simply is conservative socially and politically. For many, the Conservatives simply represent Lithuanian independence. I believe they are guaranteed 10 percent of the vote in any election because of this," he said. "The biggest mistake the Conservatives made was engaging in too much negative campaigning against Paulauskas. This helped him more than it hurt him."