The candidate list of the Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) party for October’s parliamentary elections will be led by Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, followed Foreign Minister by Gabrielius Landsbergis, who is the the party’s chairman.
“Before the Seimas elections, we called on people to trust and give more power to Lithuania, and during the presidential elections I wanted centre-right voters to have a choice that was in line with their values. There is a significant number of such people,” the prime minister told the party’s Council meeting on Thursday.
“I feel an obligation and responsibility not only to the community, but also to them, which is why I will be leading the TS-LKD list in the next parliamentary elections, and it was important for me to say that here,” she added.
Šimonytė was the conservative TS-LKD’s nominee in May’s presidential election, but has until now kept mum about whether she’ll run for parliament.
The TS-LKD Council also approved the party’s list of candidates for the multi-member constituency for the upcoming Seimas elections. Landsbergis was ranked second on this list, followed by Defence Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas.
Minister of Education, Science and Sport Radvilė Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė was ranked fourth, followed by Mindaugas Lingė, chair of the parliamentary Committee on Budget and Finance.
Next in line are Finance Minister Gintarė Skaistė, Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė, and Paulė Kuzmickienė, chair of the Committee on Social Affairs and Labour.
MP Monika Navickienė, former education minister, announced her withdrawal from the elections earlier this week and her spot on the list was given to MP Žygimantas Pavilionis, who was appointed deputy speaker on Tuesday and ranks ninth on the list.
The top ten is closed by Aistė Gedvilienė, chair of the Committee on Environmental Protection, while Andrius Vyšniauskas, elder of the Conservative Group in the Seimas, is eleventh.
The list also includes Government Chancellor Giedrė Balčytytė at number 14.
After the Council approved the list, the prime minister noted that many of the candidates had gained more relevant experience in the executive and in various positions in the Seimas during the conservatives’ time in the governing majority.
“It allows us to know better what people can do, what they know how to do, what are their strengths, what are the areas that can be improved, and, so to speak, to no longer buy a cat in the bag, but to buy a very, very clear set of competencies,” the prime minister told reporters.
Šimonytė said that she expected good results from the upcoming Seimas elections, but she would not say what she’d consider “a good result”. She said she would leave the interpretations to each individual.
At the same time, Landsbergis, who is second on the list, noted that a good result would be to be able to continue working in a governing coalition.
“It is very important that after the elections the centre in Lithuania should be able to hold, that the future government is formed by parties of the centre: like the TS-LKD, the liberal parties, the social democrats,” the politician disclosed one of his ambitions.
The conservatives completed the internal ranking list of candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections on July 1. Later these results were approved by the party’s central election commission and the presidium, and on Thursday by the TS-LKD Council.
The parliamentary elections are scheduled for October 13.
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