For the first time, people aged 21 can run for the Lithuanian parliament in the October elections. Six such candidates have decided to try their luck.
Laurynas Vilkas will not only vote for the first time in the parliamentary elections but also hopes to get votes himself. He is number 93 on the list of the conservative Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats.
“I feel ready to take my place as a member of the Seimas and build our Lithuania,” he tells LRT TV.
Vilkas is the youngest candidate in these elections. He will turn 21 on October 8, a few days before the elections, due to take place on October 13.
The political science student at Vilnius University says he became involved in politics at the age of 16, so his decision to run for parliament came as no surprise.
“My classmates always said that here is the future prime minister or president of Lithuania. I don’t know, I always felt that calling,” Vilkas says. If elected, he would like to work on youth policy, as well as education issues.
The Democratic Union “For Lithuania” also has a 21-year-old candidate running in the Seimas elections. Ignas Janeliūnas, who studies quantitative economics at Vilnius University, is number 77 on the party’s list.
“I wouldn’t run if I didn’t want to. There is that inner ambition, the desire to see what the support of young people is like, what [politics] looks like,” says Janeliūnas.
He is already somewhat familiar with the electoral processes having run for Panevėžys City Council in the last municipal elections. Janeliūnas says he has been involved in politics since his high school days, but the decision to run for Seimas was unexpected for his family.
“This choice raised questions, both from my family and other acquaintances,” he admits.
Janeliūnas says it would be a miracle if he was actually elected to the Seimas. However, he knows which issues he would like to work on as a member of the parliament.
“These are education policy, youth policy, various social issues. For example, the purchase of a first home for young families, subsidies and incentives. I’m very close to these issues both in terms of age and the field of activity where I have the most experience,” he explains.
Number 92 on the Lithuanian Green Party’s list is 21-year-old Jonas Kairys. The political science student at Vilnius University joined the party in the summer but says he has also been interested in politics from an early age.
“I think this is one of my hobbies. Because I’m interested in politics anyway, so I see politics as one of my pastimes,” the young candidate says.
Kairys says his chances to be elected are slim, but he wants to finish his studies first anyway. He sees running for Seimas this year as the beginning of his political journey.
“I’m definitely more inclined towards economic and human rights issues, but it will probably be clear once I’m elected,” he says when asked which issues he would like to work on.
More young people are needed in politics, but a politician, regardless of age, must come with ideas and goals, says sociologist Rūta Žiliukaitė.
“In national level politics, we cannot just be happy that they come. Of course, we want even a 21-year-old to come and bring issues that he thinks are national policy issues,” she says.
Seven EU countries allow candidates to stand for parliamentary and municipal elections from the age of 21. In 16 countries, the bar is even lower at 18 years. It is not clear whether young candidates attract more young voters to the polls, as no such studies have been carried out.
According to Žiliukaitė, young people’s participation in politics can be inspiring, but it is important to work consistently. “Nothing happens quickly. Of course, everybody would probably like to jump right in. But it takes time to understand and learn,” she says.
Three more lists for the upcoming Seimas elections include 21-year-old candidates: the Lithuanian Regions Party, the Peace Coalition, and the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania. One of them did not want to talk, the party did not have the contacts of another, while the parents of the third did not allow talking to the candidate.
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