Lithuanian President leads as country heads to runoff vote in two weeks

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda won the most votes in a weekend presidential election, officials said Monday, but he still faces a runoff in two weeks against Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte.

Nauseda won 44 per cent of the votes and Simonyte nearly 20 per cent, according to preliminary results published by Lithuania's Central Electoral Commission.

There were eight candidates running in all, making it difficult for any candidate to muster the 50 per cent of the votes needed to win the presidency outright on Sunday. The runoff is scheduled to be held on May 26.

The election came at a time as Russian gains in Ukraine are fuelling greater fears about Moscow's intentions, particularly in the strategically important Baltic region.

The president's main tasks in NATO-member Lithuania's political system are overseeing foreign and defence policy, along with acting as the supreme commander of the armed forces.

Given that Lithuania is strategically located on NATO's eastern flank, the presidency of a relatively small nation is given added importance as tensions rise between Russia and the West over the war in Ukraine. Both Nauseda and Simonyte have voiced support of Ukraine.

The pair also ran against each other in a presidential runoff in 2019, when Nauseda won with 66 per cent of the votes.