VILNIUS, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- The first round of the Lithuanian parliamentary elections began here on Sunday to elect 141 members of the Baltic country's parliament for a four-year term.
According to Lithuania's Central Electoral Commission (CEC), 1,754 candidates from 17 parties attended the elections of Seimas, the unicameral parliament of Lithuania. Over 2.4 million of voters are eligible to vote this year.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda urged Lithuanians to vote actively and responsibly in the parliamentary elections for the country's prosperity.
"We vote in challenging times of the pandemic, but the coronavirus must not become a reason to waive one's civic right and duty," Nauseda said in a video address posted on Facebook on Thursday.
Based on the data from the CEC, some 178,145 voters, or 7.39 percent of Lithuania's eligible voters, cast their ballots during a four-day early voting, which kicked off on Monday.
This year's advance voting in Lithuania was extended from two days to four due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier this week, Health Minister Aurelijus Veryga said that the government is well prepared for Sunday's parliamentary election amid the pandemic and that voters can come to vote safely.
A total of 71 members of the 141-seat Seimas will be elected in single-seat constituencies in two election rounds, and another 70 members of parliament will be chosen by proportional representation in a single nationwide multi-seat constituency.
A party needs at least 5 percent of votes to enter the Seimas. For electoral coalitions, the threshold is 7 percent.
After the first round of the elections on Sunday, the runoff voting will be held on Oct. 25.
