The European Parliament election in Lithuania June 13 2004
ENKey points: The European Parliament (EP) election in Lithuania was partly overshadowed by the parallel extraordinary presidential election. The latter took place following the removal of Rolandas Paksas from the office of President of the Republic on 6 April 2004 as a consequence of unprecedented impeachment proceedings. 48.38% turned out to vote in the first EP election held in Lithuania. Undoubtedly enhanced by the parallel Presidential election, turnout was above the EU-25 average, and the highest among Central and East European countries but it was the lowest compared to recent national elections. The latter can be explained as a popular reaction to the Presidential impeachment scandal and the “ political tiredness” that arose from it. The newly formed Labour Party led by populist MP Viktor Uspaskikh, a businessman of Russian origin, gained the largest share of the vote. The party stabilized its popular support during the Presidential impeachment process (November 2003-April 2004). Viktor Uspaskikh succeeded in presenting himself as a “non-participant” during the exhausting conflict between the “parliamentary elites” and the “anti-elite” Paksas. Poor arguments were used in the election campaign when one considers the actual functions of the EP. The slogan “fight for Lithuania in Brussels” was the dominant one. The election results were in line with the general popular support expressed for political parties in domestic opinion polls, with a possible slight correction in favour of the political parties supporting Mr Adamkus (though formally a non-partisan candidate), and Mrs Prunskiene, the winners of the first round of Presidential elections. On the basis of these results, there is likely to be a change of power after the forthcoming parliamentary election due to be held in October.
