One-fifth of foreigners living in Lithuania, mostly Russian and Belarusian citizens, exercised their right to vote in local elections in March.
According to the Central Electoral Commission (VRK), over 21,000 foreign citizens were able to vote in this year’s municipal elections, and almost 4,300 of them came to the ballot boxes.
One-third (1,685) of the foreign voters were Russian citizens. There were also 582 Belarusians, 298 Ukrainians, 190 Poles, 179 Latvians, and 164 German citizens among the foreign voters.
According to VRK, 352 stateless persons also voted in Lithuania’s local elections.
Laurynas Kasčiūnas, chairman of the parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defence, said that these statistics do not yet indicate any possible threats.
“These are municipal elections. But when we talk about those who are or will become citizens of Lithuania and will be able to vote in the Seimas and presidential elections, we must always ask ourselves whether such processes could be a factor of some weight in our national elections,” Kasčiūnas told BNS.
“However, there are already countries in Western Europe where immigrants who have acquired citizenship have a decisive influence on elections. This should not be the case, which is why all questions of granting citizenship must be treated very carefully,” he added.
The largest number of foreigners – 1,598 – voted in the Vilnius City Municipality elections, 781 of whom were Russians and Belarusians. Also, 631 foreign citizens voted in Visaginas, including 516 Russians and Belarusians.
Moreover, 328 foreigners took part in the elections in Klaipėda, 209 in Kaunas, and 167 in Šalčininkai District.
Citizens of the EU member states who have a temporary residence permit in Lithuania are entitled to vote in the elections of municipal councils and mayors.
Citizens of other countries have the right to vote in municipal elections in Lithuania with a permanent residence permit.
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