Initial results indicate that Nausėda had won around three-quarters of the vote, well ahead of his rival, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė from the ruling Homeland Union party.
Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nausėda has claimed victory in Sunday’s run-off election after a campaign dominated by European security concerns.
“Your vote gives me a mandate. This is a strong mandate. The credit of confidence that you have granted me is big and, without a doubt, it obliges me to act,” he said in his victory speech.
Lithuania has been a staunch ally of Ukraine since the 2022 Russian invasion and Nausėda indicated that that support would continue into his new presidential term.
According to a poll carried out by ELTA/Baltijos Tyrimai earlier this year, more than half of Lithuanians think a Russian attack on their country is possible, fears Moscow has regularly dismissed.
“My basic principles and my highest priorities were support to Ukraine, strengthening the security of Lithuania, active foreign policy and active participation in different formats of European Union,” he said.
Results indicated that Nausėda had won around three-quarters of the vote, well ahead of his rival, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė from the ruling Homeland Union party.
She conceded defeat late on Sunday night, congratulating Nausėda and promising to be back in the office on Monday.
“There is still a lot of confidence in me. People who believe in me are my biggest motivation to move forward. We will move forward and tomorrow we will come back to work and continue our work,” she said.
60-year-old independent Nausėda is a former economist with Sweden’s SEB banking group and won May’s first-round election with 44% of the vote, short of the 50% needed for a clear win.
He told his supporters he would continue working on Lithuania’s defence.
“I think we moved forward all the time, and we implemented very important decisions, especially regarding the security of Lithuania,” he said.
Nausėda and Šimonytė found common ground in defence spending, with both supporting an increase from 2.75% of GDP to 3%.
But they clashed on other issues such as whether to legalise same-sex unions.
Nausėda opposes the idea, arguing it would make such unions too similar to marriage which Lithuania’s constitution permits as being between a man and a woman.
The president of Lithuania holds a semi-executive role, which includes heading the armed forces and representing the country at EU and NATO summits.
But he or she also sets foreign and security policy together with the government and can veto laws.
