A new left-wing party, the Left Alliance KArtu, was founded in Vilnius on Wednesday. Jolanta Bielskienė, a former member of the Social Democratic Party, was elected as its chairwoman.
“I believe that what we are doing today is not only a historic event, but also a litmus test for our democracy. Why was there no left-wing party in Lithuania until now? Because it is very difficult to set up a party under the current laws,” she said.
At least 2,000 people can found a political party in Lithuania.
Over 200 people attended the party’s founding congress-festival on Wednesday. However, the organisers said there were 2,039 members in KArtu.
In its programme, the party advocates for shortening the working week (initially to 32 hours and then to 28 hours), promoting trade unions, introducing progressive taxes on corporations, businesses and high-income property-owners, lowering food prices, regulating the housing market by capping rents, fighting climate change, guaranteeing the rights of LGBTQ+ people and women.
According to Bielskienė, KArtu consists of two parts: a political party that can participate in elections and a movement open to left-wing members who do not want to belong to a party.
There are currently 24 active political parties in Lithuania.
Lithuania is holding general elections on October 13. However, in order to run, a party must be founded at least 180 days before the election date. The Central Electoral Commission announced in April that two new parties would be able to participate: the Democratic Union ‘For Lithuania’, founded by former prime minister Saulius Skvernelis, and the Dawn of the Nemunas, led by Remigijus Žemaitaitis, who is also running for president in the election later this month.
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