Republic of Lithuania: Parliament, 23 October 2016

At stake in this election:

• 141 seats in the Seimas (Parliament)

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:

• The first round of parliamentary elections were held on 9 October 2016. In this round, the Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats won 20 seats, the Lithuanian Peasant and Greens Union won 19, the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania won 13, the Liberal Movement won 8, and the Electoral Action of Lithuanian Poles and Order and Justice Party both took 5. The second round of elections will determine several constituencies that were undecided in the first round.

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.)