Lithuanian PM to run for president on TS-LKD ticket after all party contenders withdraw

With no rivals left, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė has been named the ruling conservative Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats’ presidential candidate, the party’s leader Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis has said.

“The primaries have just taken place during this praesidium meeting,” Landsbergis told reporters after the meeting of the party’s praesidium on Wednesday, adding that the candidate will receive final approval from the TS-LKD council.

The party’s regional chapters had proposed a total of 23 politicians as potential contenders to become the party’s presidential candidate. All of them, except for the prime minister, earlier withdrew from the race, with ex-President Dalia Grybauskaitė among them.

Šimonytė told journalists at the Seimas on Wednesday that she sees herself as a representative of the “pro-European right that is not radical in any way”.

“We will probably have a lot of radical rhetoric or more radical candidates. The left will definitely have a lot of candidates because people like to classify themselves as left-wing because they think it resonates with the majority of voters,” she said. “The right must have its own candidate, who is not radical, moderate, and pro-European.”

The TS-LKD leadership learnt about her decision to seek the party’s nomination on Wednesday, Šimonytė said.

Šimonytė ran for president in 2019 when she was defeated in the second round of voting by Gitanas Nausėda.

Lithuania will elect a new president in May. Opinion polls show incumbent Nausėda is the clear favourite, followed by lawyer Ignas Vėgėlė and Šimonytė.

So far, former Health Minister Aurelijus Veryga, Kazlų Rūda Mayor Mantas Varaška, and former Chief of Defence Valdas Tutkus have announced they will run for president next year.