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Conservatives toppled in Lithuania’s elections
Lithuanians have voted out their conservative government after one of the world's deepest recessions, early results suggest.
Exit polls suggest PM Andrius Kubilius may have been 'punished' by the electorate for the austerity measures his government implemented.
Exit polls suggest that Lithuania's conservatives have been ousted from power in yesterday's elections and that the Polish minority party has gained enough votes to receive seats in parliament.
The Polish minority party, Electoral Action of Poles (LLRA), which stood on a joint ticket with the Lithuanian People's Party and Russian Alliance could have won around six percent of the vote, according to the election commission, one percent more than the five percent needed to take a seat in the national assembly.
According to the local media, the Labour and Social Democrats are currently placed first and second.
They hinted they would be prepared to form a coalition together, possibly with a third party involved.
Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius' government came to power in 2008, just as the global financial crisis was bringing a dramatic end to an extended Lithuanian boom fuelled by cheap Scandinavian credit.
Kubilius enforced a drastic austerity programme, to stave off national bankruptcy.
