Lithuania votes in General Election

Lithuania’s Social Democrat and Labour opposition parties are looking to consolidate first-round gains in today’s parliamentary election second round. Voters are having to struggle through a thick snowfall as winter arrives in the Baltic state, and the results will start coming this evening. The ruling Conservatives and Prime Minister Kubilius are nursing first-round losses after four years of austerity policies they claim saved Lithuania from bankruptcy, and turned around 2009’s near-15% economic contraction to this year’s forecast 2.5% growth.