Leader of the Order and Justice Party, Rolandas Paksas, gave a reserved assessment of his party's performance in the first round of the Lithuanian general elections, saying he had expected a better outcome.
"Frankly speaking, I expected better. It seems to me that I should give a restrained opinion [about the first round]. In any case, the third place and a numerous faction will enable us to influence the processes in Lithuania," Paksas said the day after the election.
Paksas refused to mention potential coalitions and restated that the party was not "branding" or prioritizing any parties and was not against any political force. He did say that he personally wouldn't want to work with the Conservatives or Social Democrats.
Paksas has forecast difficult talks on the ruling coalition due to the relatively equal positions of the leading parties. He said the Order and Justice Party carried out no cooperation talks on the night after the elections, but the party will be open to offers from other parties and will initiate conversations on cooperation.
Asked to comment on the preliminary results suggesting that the referendum on the extension of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant's operations was unaccomplished due to low voter turnout, Paksas replied, "My opinion is negative."
According to preliminary results of the general elections, the Order and Justice Party ranked third, with 12.87 percent of eligible votes and 12 mandates. Preliminary data published by the Central Electoral Committee on Monday morning reported that voter turnout was 1.039 million people, or 47.61 percent of registered voters. For the referendum to be valid, more than 50 percent of voters were needed to mark ballots.
The majority of those who voted were in support of extending Ignalina's lifespan.
