In the parliamentary elections in Lithuania, the Social Democrats are in the lead with 90% of the votes counted

The leader of Lithuania’s opposition Social Democrats (SD) party has said she will seek to form a majority coalition government with two other parties after they topped the polls in the first round of the country’s parliamentary elections.

Vilija Blinkevičiūtė said in Vilnius that the results showed that Lithuanians want change.

“It’s just the beginning of the journey. We don’t really know yet what the end result will be in the multi-mandate, but the trends are very optimistic. There is still a lot to do,” she told supporters.

With just over 90% of votes counted, the SD had won 20% of the vote, putting it ahead of Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė’s ruling Homeland Union, which is polling at 17%.

The anti-establishment party Nemunas Dawn took third place with 15%.

During the election campaign, the SD promised to address rising inequality by raising taxes on wealthier Lithuanians in order to pump more money into sectors such as healthcare.

National security is also a concern for Lithuania, which is part of NATO and the European Union’s eastern flank and shares a border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and Belarus.

Lithuania has been a loyal ally of Ukraine and a strong critic of the Russian invasion.

Since the war began in February 2022, the Lithuanian government has provided military assistance to Kyiv. Defense Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas said in September that Vilnius had provided 153 million euros in aid this year alone.

Lithuania is recording double-digit annual personal income growth and has one of the lowest inflation rates in the 27-nation EU bloc – but many voters don’t seem impressed.

“There is great disappointment and dissatisfaction among voters,” said Rima Urbonaitė, a political analyst at Mykolas Romeris University.

“It is associated with numerous crises and shocks and cannot be compensated for by economic factors such as positive changes in purchasing power.”

Šimonytė has been criticized for strict measures during the pandemic. Many complained that their government had not done enough to help businesses during the lockdown.

Others say thousands of people were unable to access health services.

Šimonytė has also been sharply criticized for her treatment of migrants arriving via Belarus.

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The runoff election is scheduled for October 27th, when the majority of the individual constituencies will decide on the two top candidates.