Presidential elections were held in
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
on 14 February 1993.
Dieter Nohlen
Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An expe ...
& Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1201 They were the first presidential elections under the new
October 1992 constitution and the first direct presidential elections in the country's history.
Algirdas Brazauskas
Algirdas Mykolas Brazauskas (, 1932 – 2010) was the first President (fourth overall) of a newly re-independent post-Soviet Lithuania from 1993 to 1998 and Prime Minister from 2001 to 2006.
He also served as head of the Communist Party of Li ...
, the former first secretary of the
Communist Party of Lithuania
The Communist Party of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos komunistų partija; russian: Коммунистическая партия Литвы) is a banned communist party in Lithuania. The party was established in early October 1918 and operated clan ...
and leader of the
Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania
Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos demokratinė darbo partija, LDDP) was the renamed Communist Party of Lithuania. It was a political party in Lithuania in the 1990s, which claimed to be social-democratic. The youth organization ...
(LDDP), won with over 60% of the vote. The runner up was
Stasys Lozoraitis Jr., an independent candidate endorsed by the
Sąjūdis
Sąjūdis (, "Movement"), initially known as the Reform Movement of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Persitvarkymo Sąjūdis), is the political organisation which led the struggle for Lithuanian independence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was es ...
movement and other political parties.
These presidential elections had fewest number of candidates up to date.
By-elections to several municipal councils were held on the same day.
[https://savb.lt/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/30.pdf]
Campaign
Under Brazauskas' leadership, the LDDP had won 73 out of 141 seats in the
Seimas
The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublikos Seimas), or simply the Seimas (), is the unicameral parliament of Lithuania. The Seimas constitutes the legislative branch of government in Lithuania, enacting laws and amendmen ...
in the
1992 parliamentary elections.
Brazauskas was subsequently appointed as Speaker, and by virtue of that position, also became acting president. Based on the success of the LDDP in the parliamentary elections, Brazauskas was considered favorite for the presidential elections.
[ ]Vytautas Landsbergis
Vytautas Landsbergis (born 18 October 1932) is a Lithuanian politician and former Member of the European Parliament. He was the first Speaker of Reconstituent Seimas of Lithuania after its independence declaration from the Soviet Union. He has ...
, leader of the pro-independence Sąjūdis
Sąjūdis (, "Movement"), initially known as the Reform Movement of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Persitvarkymo Sąjūdis), is the political organisation which led the struggle for Lithuanian independence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was es ...
movement, withdrew his candidacy in support of Stasys Lozoraitis Jr.,[ a Lithuanian diplomat, who had spent almost all of his life in Italy and the United States representing the interwar independent Lithuania. Because of the ]Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...
, his work was virtually unknown in Lithuania. No other candidates came forward as other parties with the exception of the Polish minority declared their support for Lozoraitis as they had become alarmed by the dominance of Brazauskas and the LDDP.[
The campaign time was limited to three weeks. Lozoraitis stressed his experience in complex foreign affairs.][ Brazauskas, operating in a familiar environment, was better prepared to address domestic affairs and promised to focus on a smooth transition from ]planned economy
A planned economy is a type of economic system where investment, production and the allocation of capital goods takes place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. A planned economy may use centralized, decentralized, part ...
to free market
In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any o ...
.[ During the campaign, Lozoraitis was labeled as a foreigner who did not understand the current situation of Lithuania and was largely dependent on the unpopular Sąjūdis.][ ]Valdas Adamkus
Valdas Adamkus (; born Voldemaras Adamkavičius; 3 November 1926) is a Lithuanian-American politician, diplomat and civil engineer. He served as the 5th and 7th President of Lithuania from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2004 to 2009.
Adamkus' ...
, who went on to win the 1997–98 presidential elections, assisted Lozoraitis in his campaign.
Results
Brazauskas received a majority of the vote everywhere except Kaunas
Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...
, and did particularly well in areas inhabited by the Russian and Polish minorities.[ This allowed him to win the presidency in a single round; his 61 percent vote share exceeded the 50 percent threshold required to avoid a runoff.
]
Aftermath
The inauguration ceremony took place on 25 February. In May 1993, just a few months after the elections, Brazauskas recalled Lozoraitis as ambassador to the United States despite criticism of politicizing the issue.
References
External links
1993 Lithuanian presidential elections
VRK
{{Lithuanian elections
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
Presidential election
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
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Presidential elections in Lithuania