In this election, a record number of parties spoke in favor of LGBT + rights, most of them crossing the 5% multi-member barrier. This raises the expectation of change. In Lithuania, same-sex families are still unable to legalize their relationships, adopt, positive information about LGBT + people is censored by the Law on the Protection of Minors, and transgender people still do not have a properly regulated way to legally exchange their gender documents.
During the last term of the Seimas, the LGBT + community eventually received only negative changes, and positive laws were suspended. The Family Strengthening Act was passed, which defines families through the prism of gender complementarity and discriminates against same-sex and other non-standard families. There was a proposal to ban medical gender reassignment, and the law on gender-neutral partnerships was not passed.
In this context, it is very important to provide information on the remaining single-member candidates. The voter must be aware of who will improve the rights situation of LGBT + people and who will try to further restrict the freedoms of our community, support or deepen the discriminatory situation. After the second round, it will become clear how many members of each Seimas will have. It is influenced not only by the potential of individual Seimas members to vote for initiatives, but also by the ability of parties to negotiate with each other on coalition priorities. If parties that support LGBT + rights have more members of the Seimas, this may be important for the implementation of those rights.
Therefore, Rainbow: Single 2020 the team prepared an updated ranking for the second round of single-member elections to the Seimas. Although the evaluation of the parties remained unchanged, the evaluation methodology was adjusted taking into account the comments and the fact that the field of choice for voting in the second round is narrower, requiring a more relative evaluation.
We hope that this rating will help provide information about the candidates and help those who care about LGBT + rights to vote. As before, evaluation is not a measure of progressiveness or political transparency - it is exclusively LGBT + issues, and voters are encouraged to consider other political dimensions, such as future coalitions, other policy areas.
We also recommend voting for the most impressive candidate and not following calls to vote for one who "has not yet made it through the party lists." Even candidates who win through multi-members can win single-members, and thus help their party list. If the party is pro-LGBT, that is a welcome thing. Read more via Gayline
Lithuania votes: Centre-right opposition edges towards win with coalition talks expected
Opposition conservative party Homeland Union claimed victory on Monday in the first round of Lithuania's general election.
Obtaining 23 seats in the country's 141-seat parliament, the centre-right opposition appears on track to win the vote, defeating the ruling four-party coalition.
The Farmers and Greens Union, which forms the backbone of the Baltic nation's current coalition government, finished second with 16 seats outright and many fewer candidates making it into the second round of voting, which is to be held on October 25.
Two liberal parties — the Freedom Party and the Liberal Movement — considered likely allies in a future centre-right coalition, claimed a total of 14 seats. The centre-left Labour party won nine seats and the Social Democrats got eight. Six parties will be represented in the Seimas parliament, according to initial results.
Three candidates in single-member constituencies claimed victory in the first round of voting including the former finance minister and one of the Homeland Union’s leaders, Ingrida Simonyte, a former candidate for president who oversaw drastic austerity cuts during the global financial crisis. She looks increasing likely to be the country’s next prime minister. Under Lithuania’s election system, the remaining 68 lawmakers will be elected in a proportional vote on October 25. Read more via AP