Lithuanian top presidential hopefuls promise to tackle inequality
The race is led jointly by Ingrida Simonyte and Gitanas Nauseda running neck-and-neck on 22% each and if there is no clear winner a run-off vote will be on May 26
Vilnius — Lithuanians came out in large numbers to vote in a tightly contested presidential election on Sunday to replace outgoing president Dalia Grybauskaite, the Baltic nation’s Iron Lady who was one of the EU most outspoken critics of Russia. Still very popular, Grybauskaite, 63, is not eligible to run after two terms. But the top three candidates vying to replace her have pledged to maintain a tough stance against Vilnius’ former Soviet master as well as hefty military spending. Five years after Moscow’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine that sparked fears of further Russian aggression across Eastern Europe, the election campaign in Lithuania was dominated by voter anger over economic inequality and corruption. The race is led jointly by Ingrida Simonyte, 44, a former finance minister in a centre-right government, and Gitanas Nauseda, 54, a former senior economist at a top bank, running neck-and-neck on 22% each, according to a Vilmorus/Lietuvos Rytas poll. “I feel excited, b...
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