1992 Lithuanian parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Lithuania in two stages on 25 October and 15 November 1992. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1201 A total of 141 members were elected to the Seimas, which replaced the Supreme Council; 70 were elected using proportional representation and 71 from single-member constituencies. Where no candidate gained more than 50% of the vote on 25 October, a run-off was held on 15 November. The first round of the elections were held simultaneously with a referendum on the adoption of a new constitution.

The result was a victory for the Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania (LDDP), which won 73 seats. Analysts attributed the surprisingly decisive victory to support from farmers and the Russian and Polish minorities, as well as widespread dissatisfaction with the economic situation and the policies of the ruling Sąjūdis political movement, which only won 30 seats. LDDP leader Algirdas Brazauskas was subsequently elected the Speaker of the Sixth Seimas and assumed the title of acting President of Lithuania. Bronislovas Lubys was appointed Prime Minister.

The elections were the first one in Europe following the fall of the Iron Curtain, when a former communist party received the most votes and returned in government.

Electoral system

The elections were held under the terms of the new electoral law, adopted on 9 July 1992; on the same day, the election date was set for 25 October. The law provided for a mixed electoral system, with 70 MPs elected on proportional party lists and 71 MPs in single member constituencies. 70 MPs were elected in closed lists. Run-off elections were to be held on 15 November in constituencies where no candidate received at least 50% of the votes cast.

The mixed electoral system was a compromise between the two main political powers, the Sąjūdis coalition, which preferred first past the post, and the ex-communist LDDP, which proposed proportional representation. The latter was confident of the appeal its political stance had with the voters but lacked popular personalities, while Sąjūdis was concerned about its falling approval ratings but counted among its members many of the individuals that had led Lithuania to independence from the Soviet Union. The mixed system was also expected to strike a balance between MPs representing the interests of their constituencies and the interests of their parties.

To take any of the 70 seats allocated proportionally, the party needed to receive at least 4% of the popular vote. The threshold did not apply to electoral lists representing national minorities (their lists needed to receive at least 0.7% of popular vote to win seats).

Suffrage was granted based on citizenship of the former Soviet Union (with exceptions) as opposed to being based solely on the citizenship law of the pre-war Republic of Lithuania (similarly as happened in Latvia and Estonia in early 1990s).

These elections were the first ones, when voters abroad could vote by post. These voters' votes were assigned to the 1st ( Naujamiestis) constituency, where Seimas Palace was located.

Campaign

The main challenger to the ruling Sąjūdis nationalist movement, led by outgoing Chairman of the Supreme Council of Lithuania Vytautas Landsbergis, was the LDDP headed by Brazauskas. Sąjūdis – which had controlled the Supreme Council since February 1990 and spearheaded the move to independence – was criticized for the country's economic woes, while their opponents called for a slowdown in the pace of change to a free-market system and improved relations with Russia.Elections held in 1992
Inter-Parliamentary Union In the run-up to the elections, Sąjūdis portrayed the opposing political groups as communist and reactionary, opposed to independence and democracy. The LDDP proclaimed their political principles, including the foreign policy aims of membership of the Council of Europe, association agreement with the European Community, agreements with the International Monetary Fund and neighborly relations with Poland. They also called for agreements with Russia to secure traditional sources for materials and trade.

Altogether 26 parties and political movements contested the elections, with 486 candidates contesting the single-seat constituencies. Opinion polls suggested that no political group would win a decisive majority and a coalition government seemed likely. Most participating parties ruled out joining a coalition government with the LDDP.

Opinion polls

Graphical summary

Results

Polling procedures were witnessed by international observers. The LDDP won 73 seats (in April 1993, the LDDP increased its tally to 76 seats), with analysts attributing their victory, among other things, to the party's support from farmers and the Russian and Polish minorities, as well as popular anger about the economic crisis, in particular the fuel shortages since Russia, the main supplier, had cut off imports. The results showed widespread desire for a different political direction and dissatisfaction with the confrontational approach to politics used by Sąjūdis. The elections were even more disappointing for centrist political groups, which only received around 15% of the vote, despite many prominent individuals in their ranks.

These elections were the only ones, when single party won absolute majority in Seimas.

Aftermath

The decisive outcome of the elections surprised observers and even the LDDP themselves, who had expected to win 15–17 seats and did not have enough names on its electoral list (on nationwide list the party had put only 71 members). Sąjūdis reacted to their loss with disbelief and encouraged its supporters to join acts of civil disobedience. Elections also caused dissentment in Sąjūdis membership and raised the need to form actual political party, the Homeland Union in 1993.

First session of newly elected Sixth Seimas took place on 25 November 1992. Originally, it was planned to place on 18 November 1992, but due to recounts in single-member constituencies and disputes over possible voting irregularities, the session was delayed.

In the first session of the Seimas, Brazauskas was elected the Speaker of the Seimas and assumed the title of acting President of Lithuania. Brazauskas would go on to be elected President on 14 February 1993 in the country's first presidential elections. After Brazauskas was elected president (and due to Speaker Česlovas Juršėnas having to suspend his membership of the LDDP parliamentary group), the LDDP majority decreased to one member majority in the parliament. By April 1993, the LDDP tally increased by three seats as the Supreme Court of Lithuania annulled Central Electoral Commission's decisions that recognised victories in run-offs to candidates, which had received fewer votes than the LDDP candidates. The party also won back Kaišiadorys constituency in a by-election.

On 1 December 1992, Bronislovas Lubys, an independent business manager and politician, supported by the LDDP, was appointed Prime Minister.

References

{{Lithuanian elections

Parliamentary elections in Lithuania
Lithuania
Parliamentary election