Lithuanian Polish Political Party in Parliamentary Election 2016 in Lithuania

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to present the analysis of the election results of Lietuvos lenkų rinkimų akcija-Kriscioniskų seimų sąjunga (LLRA-KSS, Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania-Christian Families Alliance) in Lithuania’s Parliamentary elections 2016. The article contains a short review of the development of Lithuanian-Polish relationship. Several new events took place before Parliamentary elections 2016 and had certain impact on elections. First of all, constituency borders were changed in Lithuania what in general was very useful for LLRA-KSS. Secondly, geopolitical and security situation in Russia changed dramatically because of its aggression in Ukraine and it also revealed prokremlin’s orientation of LLRA-KSS that in turn had a very negative impact on the party’s image. Probably due to this LLRA-KSS received about 10 thousand less votes. This drop was most significant in Vilnius city but had an immaterial effect in the constituencies controlled by LLRA-KSS. Nevertheless, these elections reveal another important fact that voters in Vilnius district value not only candidates' nationalities (as it might be expected) but also their origin and bonds with local communities. Key words: Lithuania, election 2016, Lithuanian Poles, Lithuanian Polish party, Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania-Christian Families Alliance