Social Democrats win Lithuania's election, overcoming center-right government

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Lithuania' s center-left opposition parties celebrated victory on Monday after prevailing over the center-right ruling coalition in the final round of national elections.

With 100% of votes counted from Sunday's polls, the Social Democrats won 52 seats in the 141-seat parliament, known as the Seimas, ending the four-year rule of the Homeland Union government led by conservative Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė.

The Social Democrats will start talks on forming a majority cabinet with two smaller center-left parties, the Democratic Union and the Union of Peasants and Greens, which won respectively 14 and 8 seats. The coalition is expected to control at least 74 seats.

Šimonytė's Homeland Union won only 28 seats in the two-round election.

Vilija Blinkevičiūtė, who heads the Social Democrats, thanked supporters as a cheering crowd celebrated victory in downtown Vilnius on Sunday.

“I am very grateful to the people of Lithuania who were so active today voting for us” she said adding that “the results have shown that the people want change, a completely different government.”

The outcome was a surprise to the ruling conservatives, who were only two seats behind the Social Democrats after the first round.

Analysts had predicted that Lithuania is set to continue a historic pattern where voters tend to look a different way every four years.

Šimonytė conceded, noting the pattern. “In Lithuania that's the way it is, every election we see the pendulum swinging in one direction or the other,” she told reporters. “We respect the will of the voters.”

The vote in Lithuania, which borders Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave to the west and Belarus to the east, came at a time when Russia’s war in Ukraine is fueling greater fears about Moscow’s intentions, particularly in the strategically important Baltic region.

Analysts say there won’t be any significant change in Lithuania’s foreign policy. The European Union and NATO member is a staunch supporter of Ukraine.

The outgoing government faced criticism for the strict measures it adopted 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.

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

Although the country has seen annual double-digit personal income growth and has one of the lowest inflation rates in the 27-nation bloc, most voters did not seem to be impressed.

The results also mean that the new cabinet can be formed without the populist Nemuno Aušra party which came in third, with 20 seats. Its leader Remigijus Žemaitaitis had to resign from parliament earlier this year for making antisemitic statements.

Following the results, Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania's foreign minister, announced his resignation from the leadership of Homeland Union and said he was leaving politics.

Turnout on Sunday was 41.31 percent, among the highest for a runoff.

A girl helps to cast a ballot at a polling station during a second round of voting in parliamentary election, in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

A man with a child casts a ballot at a polling station during a second round of voting in parliamentary election, in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

A woman with a child prepare to cast a ballot at a polling station during a second round of voting in parliamentary election, in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Local residents arrive to cast their ballots at a polling station during a second round of voting in parliamentary election, in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

A boy helps to cast a ballot at a polling station during a second round of voting in parliamentary election, in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda prepares to cast his ballot at a polling station during a second round of voting in parliamentary election, in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Leader of the Social Democratic Party Vilija Blinkeviciute speaks to the press at a polling station during a second round of voting in parliamentary election, in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Leader of the Social Democratic Party Vilija Blinkeviciute speaks to the media while waiting for the results of the second round of Lithuania's parliamentary election, in an office in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Leader of the Social Democratic Party Vilija Blinkeviciute speaks to the media while waiting for the results of the second round of Lithuania's parliamentary election, in an office in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Leader of the Social Democratic Party Vilija Blinkeviciute, center, smiles as she waits for the results of the second round of Lithuania's parliamentary election, in an office in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Leader of the Social Democratic Party Vilija Blinkeviciute, center, smiles as she waits for the results of the second round of Lithuania's parliamentary election, in an office in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

VADODARA, India (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez inaugurated India's first private military aircraft plant on Monday, boosting New Delhi's ambitions of growing local manufacturing in its defense and aerospace industries.

Sanchez was welcomed to the country with a roadshow in Gujarat state's Vadodara city where hundreds of people cheered and waved banners.

The two leaders then launched the Tata Aircraft Complex, the manufacturing hub that will produce the Airbus C-295 transport military aircraft in collaboration with Airbus Spain and to be deployed by the Indian air force.

Sanchez said the project was a triumph of Modi's vision “to turn India into an industrial powerhouse and a magnet for investment and business-to-business collaboration."

“This partnership between Airbus and Tata will contribute to the progress of the Indian aerospace industry and will open new doors for the arrival of other European companies,” he added.

The chairman of Tata conglomerate, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, hailed it as a historic day for the country's defense sector and credited the late Ratan Tata, the industrialist and former chairman who died earlier this month, for conceiving the idea more than a decade ago.

Under a $2.5 billion deal signed in 2021, Airbus will deliver the first 16 of the aircraft from its final assembly line in Seville, Spain. Six of them have been delivered to the Indian air force so far.

Tata Advanced Systems Ltd will produce 40 of the aircraft in the Vadodara plant, which is expected to roll out the first C-295 aircraft made in India in 2026. The aircraft can transport up to 71 troops or 50 paratroopers and will be able to access remote locations. It can also be used for medical evacuations and to aid in disaster response and maritime patrol duties.

Since coming to power in 2014, Modi has vowed to turn India into a global manufacturing hub, including in infrastructure, pharmaceuticals and defense. As part of an effort to modernize and reform military equipment, the government has sought to grow the private defense manufacturing sector, a space previously occupied solely by the government-run organizations, and has eased foreign direct investment regulations to try and encourage companies to establish themselves in India.

The visit marks the first by a Spanish leader to India in 18 years. Modi and Sanchez have previously met on the sidelines of global summits in 2018 and 2021. During the two-day visit, Sanchez will hold talks with Modi to review ties between the countries and also speak with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

On Tuesday, Sanchez will travel to Mumbai, India's financial capital and home to Bollywood, where he is expected to interact with trade and industry leaders, and also visit film studios in an effort to grow collaboration between the Indian and Spanish entertainment industry.

Their bilateral trade stood at nearly $10 billion as of 2023. According to the Indian Foreign Ministry, more than 200 Spanish companies actively operate in India and around 80 Indian companies in Spain.

The two leaders are expected to sign agreements that will further boost ties and cooperation in various areas such as trade, information technology, renewable energy and defense, according to an Indian government statement.

In this handout photo provided by the Press Information Bureau, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, third left, and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez, second left, listen to an aide at the exhibition after inaugurating India's first private military aircraft plant in Vadodara, India, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (Press Information Bureau via AP)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, center left, and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez, center right, wave to greet people from a vehicle in Vadodara, India, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, center left, and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez, center right, wave to greet people from a vehicle in Vadodara, India, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, center left, and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez, center right, wave to greet people from a vehicle in Vadodara, India, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo)