Vilinus (Lithuania): A conservative opposition party received the most votes in Lithuania s election today, but it was unlikely to match the combined strength of two rival populist groups, an exit poll indicated.
The poll, released on Lithuania's TV3 network moments after voting ending, showed the conservative Homeland Union with 21 per cent in the Baltic country's parliamentary vote, while two allied populist parties Order and Justice and the Labor Party mustered a combined 25 per cent.
The results could suggest a lengthy battle for the next government, with the conservatives vying with the populists, including impeached former President Rolandas Paksas, for the right to form a coalition.
Paksas Order and Justice party was in second place with 14 per cent of the vote, one point ahead of the governing Social Democrats, who have controlled the prime minister s position for the last seven years, said the survey, conducted by the Rait pollster.
TV3 said today the poll included more than 4,600 respondents and had a 1.5 per cent margin of error. The vote also featured a nonbinding referendum on whether to keep a flawed, Soviet-era nuclear plant operating beyond its scheduled closure.
The Central Election Commission said today there was a chance that the referendum, which is nonbinding, would be invalid due to low voter turnover.
By 2330 IST, only 45 per cent of registered voters had cast a ballot, the commission said, while the law requires a minimum 50 per cent for a referendum to be valid.
