Aušrinė Armonaitė is stepping down as chairwoman of the Lithuanian Freedom Party after its poor performance in the recent parliamentary elections.
“This is a signal for both the party and me. And I take responsibility: I am stepping down as the party chairwoman,” Armonaitė, who is currently the minister of economy, posted on Facebook on Sunday.
The liberal Freedom Party failed to secure any seats in the party list vote, garnering 4.53 percent of the votes, just below the 5-percent threshold needed to enter the parliament.
Armonaitė herself and two other Freedom Party candidates advanced to the run-offs in their respective single-member constituencies, but none managed to win a seat.
“I remain a member of the party and will always offer advice and help, especially to new and young politicians if they need it,” she added.
According to Armonaitė, the Freedom Party’s board is set to hold a meeting shortly, where she will propose to hold a congress in December to elect a new chairperson.
Under the party’s statutes, an interim chairperson will be appointed from the management board until a new leader is chosen.
In the 2020 parliamentary election, the Freedom Party won 11 seats and joined the current ruling coalition with the Liberal Movement and the conservative Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats.
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