The Lithuanian Farmers and Green Union (LVŽS), the biggest parliamentary opposition party, is withdrawing its presidential candidate Aurelijus Veryga from the race. It plans to back the lawyer Ignas Vėgėlė in May’s presidential election, the party said.
“We have always stressed that we don’t need government positions, but we need an instrument to reach out to people and meet their expectations of a good, safe and dignified life. Therefore, thinking about the presidential election and the fact that they must end with the victory of traditional values and real work for Lithuania, we must make the right step and withdraw from this election,” LVŽS leader Ramūnas Karbauskis said on Friday.
The party’s council weighed in on the latest public opinion polls showing that the votes of the party’s supporters are split among Veryga, Vėgėlė and incumbent President Gitanas Nausėda who is seeking re-election.
Karbauskis says his party wants to prevent Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, nominated by the ruling conservative Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats, from making it to the presidential election runoff.
The LVŽS leader also urged other presidential candidates to follow his party’s suit.
Earlier this week, Veryga, a former health minister, submitted over 36,700 signatures to the Central Electoral Commission, more than the 20,000 required to become a presidential candidate.
Lithuania is holding the first round of the presidential election on May 12, to be followed by a runoff vote two weeks later if no candidate wins an outright majority.
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