Lithuania Votes as Austerity Upshot Points to Cabinet Ouster
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Lithuanians went to the polls today in an election that’s set to oust the government after austerity measures intensified the Baltic nation’s deepest recession, triggering record-high unemployment and an exodus of workers.
Voting began at 7 a.m. in the capital, Vilnius, with the opposition Social Democrats likely to lead a new coalition, a survey by Baltijos Tyrimai shows. A Cabinet will be formed after a second round of balloting on Oct. 28 in the single-mandate districts that comprise half of the 141-seat parliament. Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius’s Homeland Union-Christian Democrats poll third. Voting stations close at 8 p.m., with exit polls due right after.