Lithuanians vote in parliamentary election with many looking for change despite a strong economy

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Lithuanians voted Sunday in the first round of parliamentary elections that could lead to the center-right governing coalition being replaced by the opposition Social Democrats and smaller center-left parties.

Despite economic successes, strict COVID-19 measures and an influx of migrants have cast shadows over conservative Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė’s government, which took office in 2020.

Although European Union member Lithuania has seen annual double-digit personal income growth and has one of the lowest inflation rates in the 27-nation bloc, many voters don’t seem to be impressed.

“There’s a lot of disappointment and discontent among voters,” said Rima Urbonaitė, a political analyst at Vilnius’ Mykolas Romeris University. “It is related to numerous crises and shocks and cannot be compensated by economic factors like positive change in purchasing power.”

Šimonytė has faced criticism for strict measures during the pandemic, with many complaining that her government didn’t do enough to help companies during lockdown. Others say thousands of people didn’t have proper access to health care services.

Šimonytė also has been lambasted for her handling of migrants arriving via Belarus. Lithuania has its eastern neighbor, as well as Russia, of orchestrating the influx of people, mostly from Africa and the Middle East.

A recent survey by pollster Vilmorus says that the Social Democratic Party, led by Vilija Blinkevičiūtė, would top the poll, with twice as many votes as Šimonytė’s Homeland Union. Nemuno Aušra, a newly registered party of right-wing politician Remigijus Žemaitaitis, who was impeached earlier this year for making antisemitic statements, would come in between them.

However no party would obtain more than 20% of the vote, forcing anyone hoping to govern to to look for alliances.

The Social Democrats have ruled out an alliance with Žemaitaitis’ party, meaning that three or four parties, likely small groups representing the political center, will be necessary to form a governing coalition.

“I have voted for the conservatives my entire life, but this year I’m thinking of giving my ballot to another good party, not to them,” said Darius Mikalauskas, a 51-year-old teacher in Vilnius. "Šimonytė and the entire Homeland Union looks battered, worn out and they would better spend some time on the spare bench.”

Analysts say a shift to the left wouldn’t bring significant changes to the foreign policy of Lithuania, which also borders Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave to the west. But the vote comes at a time when Russia’s war in Ukraine is fueling greater fears about Moscow’s intentions, particularly in the strategically important Baltic region.

“In this country, the foreign policy course is determined mainly by the president,” Urbonaitė said. Earlier this year, President Gitanas Nauseda beat Šimonytė in the presidential election to take a second five-year term.

In 2020, Šimonytė led her Homeland Union to victory in the parliamentary election. She later formed a coalition with two liberal parties, the Freedom Party and the Liberal Movement.

About 2.4 million people are eligible to elect 141 members of the parliament, or Seimas, for a four-year term in two rounds. On Sunday, 70 lawmakers will be elected by party lists, joined by those in single-mandate constituencies who manage to win more than 50% of votes. The runoff is Oct. 27, when the majority of single-member constituencies will vote to choose between the two leading candidates.

A boy casts a ballot at a polling station during the first round of voting in parliamentary election, in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

A girl looks from a voting booth as her relative fills-in a ballot at a polling station during the first round of voting in a parliamentary election, in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

A woman with a child casts a ballot at a polling station during the first round of voting in parliamentary elections, in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Residents cast their ballots at a polling station during the first round of voting in presidential elections in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Local residents vote at a polling station during the first round of voting in a parliamentary election, in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

A woman leaves a polling booth at a polling station during the first round of voting in a parliamentary election, in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

A children stand near a voting booth during the first round of voting in parliamentary election, in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

FILE - Lithuania's Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte speaks during a news conference following his meeting with Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk at the government's headquarters in Vilnius, Lithuania, on March 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis, File)

Local residents wait at a bus stop, with a poster displaying leader of the Social Democratic Party Vilija Blinkeviciute in Vilnius, Lithuania, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

A man with a child casts his ballot at a polling station during the first round of voting in parliamentary elections, in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

An elderly woman casts her vote at the polling station during the first round of voting in parliamentary elections, in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee law requiring pornographic websites to verify their visitors' age was largely blocked in court before it was to take effect Jan. 1, even as similar laws kicked in for Florida and South Carolina and remained in effect for more than a dozen other states.

On Dec. 30, U.S. District Judge Sheryl Lipman in Memphis ruled that Tennessee's law would likely suppress the First Amendment free speech rights of adults without actually preventing children from accessing the harmful material in question. The state attorney general's office is appealing the decision.

The Free Speech Coalition, an adult entertainment trade group, is suing over Tennessee's law and those in a half-dozen other states. The coalition lists some 19 states that have passed similar laws. One prominent adult website has cut off access in several states due to their laws.

The issue will hit the U.S. Supreme Court for oral arguments regarding Texas' law next week.

No one voted against Tennessee's law last year when it passed the Republican-supermajority legislature, and GOP Gov. Bill Lee signed off on it.

The law would require porn websites to verify visitors are at least 18 years old, threatening felony penalties and civil liability possible for violators running the sites. They could match a photo to someone's ID, or use certain “public or private transactional data” to prove someone’s age. Website leaders could not retain personally identifying information and would have to keep anonymized data.

The Free Speech Coalition and other plaintiffs sued, winning a preliminary injunction that blocks the attorney general from enforcement while court proceedings continue. However, the coalition expressed concern that private lawsuits or actions by individual district attorneys could be possible.

In her ruling, Judge Lipman wrote that parental controls on minors' devices are more effective and less restrictive.

She wrote that under Tennessee's law, minors still could access adult sites using VPNs, or virtual private networks, that mask a user's location. Or, they could view pornographic material on social media sites, which are unlikely to reach the law's threshold of one-third of its content considered harmful to minors.

The judge also said the impact could be overly broad, potentially affecting other plaintiffs such as an online educational platform focused on sexual wellness.

She noted that Tennessee's definition of “content harmful to minors” extends to include text. She specifically mentioned that the phrase “the human nipple,” or crude combinations of keyboard characters, would be considered harmful as long as they lack “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors."

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti's office is asking the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to let the law take effect as the lawsuit proceeds. Skrmetti noted that other appeals courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, allowed similar laws to take effect.

“The Protect Tennessee Minors Act institutes common sense age verification to stop kids from accessing explicit obscene content while protecting the privacy of adults who choose to do so," Skrmetti said.

The Free Speech Coalition has argued the law would be ineffective, unconstitutional and force people to transfer sensitive information.

“This is a deeply flawed law that put website operators at risk of criminal prosecution for something as trivial as a mention of the human nipple," said Free Speech Coalition Executive Director Alison Boden.

As verification laws took effect in Florida and South Carolina last week, website Pornhub cut off access there and posted a message encouraging people to contact political decision-makers. Its parent company, Aylo, says the site has blocked access in 16 states with verification requirements it called "ineffective, haphazard, and dangerous" and not properly enforced. The company is advocating for age verification on individual devices.

Judges had paused the laws in Indiana and Texas. But circuit appeals courts stepped in to allow enforcement.

The Supreme Court declined to halt Texas' law in April while the court action continues. The next step is Supreme Court oral arguments on Jan. 15.

Another age verification law is set to begin in July in Georgia.

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This story has been corrected to show that Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti made a statement about the Protect Tennessee Minors Act, not his spokesperson.

FILE - The Tennessee Capitol is seen on April 23, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)