Russian-born millionaire's party tops Lithuania poll among voter discontent

news.yahoo.com ^ | Mon, Oct 11, 2004 | AFP

[Destro]

Russian-born millionaire's party tops Lithuania poll among voter discontent

Mon, Oct 11, 2004

A party led by Viktor Uspaskich, a Russian-born millionaire, has come out on top in first-round parliamentary elections in Lithuania, but the possible make-up of the Baltic state's future government remains unclear(AFP/Janek Skarzynski)

VILNIUS, (AFP) - A party led by a Russian-born millionaire has come out on top in first-round parliamentary elections in Lithuania, but the possible make-up of the Baltic state's future government remains unclear.

In the first elections to be held for the 141-member parliament, the Seimas, since Lithuania joined the EU and NATO (news - web sites) earlier this year, Viktor Uspaskich's opposition Labour Party captured 29 percent of the votes -- gaining 23 seats.

In Sunday's vote the ruling left-wing coalition of the Social Democrat and Social Liberal parties, led by outgoing prime minister Algirdas Brazauskas and parliamentary speaker Arturas Paulauskas, got 21 percent of votes, and 19 seats in parliament.

"The voters have challenged traditional parties," the daily Lietuvos Ritas splashed across its front page.

The Labour Party, set up only last year, had campaigned on a populist platform promising to fight corruption and boost jobs and living standards in this country of 3.5 million.

Despite the fastest growth rate in the European Union (news - web sites) in a country dubbed the "Baltic Tiger," the new-found prosperity has not trickled down to ordinary Lithuanians outside the major cities where unemployment is stubbornly high.

But Uspaskich's Russian origin has raised concerns among many in Lithuania, which only gained its independence from Moscow 13 years ago after half a century of Soviet rule and is dependent on Russian gas supplies.

The elections' final results will be known only in two weeks' time when a second round of voting will be held in 66 local constituencies where no candidate won more than 50 percent of the vote.

But the split vote means that a coalition will have to be formed and observers in Vilnius believe the most likely outcome is a deal between Uspaskich and the current ruling parties.

"The most likely combination is Labour and the Social Democrat and Social Liberals, unless Uspaskich puts forward impossible conditions," said Alvidas Lukoisaitis of the Institute for Political Science and International Relations.

Speaking Sunday night as the results trickled in, the prime minister said the current ruling coalition was open to negotiations with Uspaskich.

"We will form a coalition with those who share our ideals and our programme," Brazauskas, who was the last communist party leader in Soviet-era Lithuania, said in televised comments.

The Russian-born businessman, 45, who has built a business empire in Lithuania worth more than 160 million dollars, was noncommital in reply.

"We are ready to talk about a coalition with everyone but we will not only look at the parties' programmes but at the people who lead them," he said.

Uspaskich, whose longstanding ties to Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom have provoked suspicion, told AFP on the eve of the vote he would not insist on getting the prime minister's job.

The vote followed the election in July of a pro-Western president, US emigre Valdas Adamkus, after the impeachment of his predecessor Rolandas Paksas over ties to a shadowy Russian-born businessman.

Turnout among the 2.6 million registered voters was 46 percent, election officials said.

The right-wing Conservative Party was third with 15 percent -- 11 seats -- and a party of supporters of Paksas got 11 percent and nine seats.

Two other parties made it above the five-percent barrier required to get a share of the 70 seats distributed to parties on the basis of their performance in Sunday's elections.

Labour are in a strong position for the second round, fielding nearly 50 candidates for the 66 seats, and Uspaskich already won his mandate in Kedainiai, 120 kilometres (75 miles) west of Vilnius, convincingly.