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Lithuania

Europe · lt

Semi-presidential republic; the president is elected by direct popular vote in a two-round system, and the Seimas is elected by a mixed system combining single-member constituencies with a nationwide proportional list.

Profile last reviewed July 23, 2026

Lithuania enfranchised women and men on equal terms when it first became independent after the First World War, lost competitive elections to Soviet occupation in 1940, and restored them in 1990 — the first Soviet republic to declare independence. Voting today is on paper, the electoral roll is drawn automatically from the population register, and results are published down to individual polling stations, which lets anyone recompute the national total for themselves.

How voting works today

Voting age
18 and over
Voter registration
Automatic
Identification
Photo ID required
Compulsory voting
No
Postal voting
Restricted
Early voting
Available to all
Online voting
Not available
Voting from abroad
Available to all

Voters are entered on the roll automatically from the population register and must show an identity document to vote. Advance voting is open to any voter at designated municipal offices in the days before election day; postal voting is limited to voters in institutions such as hospitals and prisons.

How the franchise changed

Every entry records a change in who could vote, or how — expansions, restrictions and procedural reforms alike.

  1. 1920Expansion

    Women and men voted on equal terms for the Constituent Assembly, and the 1922 constitution entrenched universal suffrage.

  2. 1940Restriction

    Soviet occupation ended independent elections for half a century.

  3. 1990Expansion

    Lithuania was the first Soviet republic to declare the restoration of its independence, and competitive elections followed within months.

  4. 1993Expansion

    The first direct presidential election of the restored republic was held.

  5. 2004Reform

    EU accession added European Parliament elections to the calendar.

Safeguards on the count

Ballot type
Paper ballots
Post-election audit
Judicial challenge only
Election administration
Independent commission
Domestic observers
Yes
International observers
Yes

Ballots are paper and counted by hand. The Central Electoral Commission is a permanent independent body, and complaints are resolved through it and the courts; there is no routine statistical audit of the count.

Worth knowing

  • Lithuania was the first Soviet republic to declare the restoration of its independence, in March 1990, and held competitive multi-party elections the same year.
  • Results are published at polling-station level, so the national total can be independently recomputed from the published data.

Sources

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