In order to be officially registered as candidates, participants of the presidential election campaign are required to collect at least 20,000 signatures of voters backing their election bid. On Wednesday, the majority of participants of the election campaign received forms for collection of signatures from the Central Electoral Commission (VRK). Their supporters may also back them online on the voters’ website.
Šimonytė garnered the required number of signatures, 20,000, by the evening of 21 February. Her supporters could sign solely online instead of filling in paper forms.
By Wednesday evening, 8,200 voters signed for the Freedom Party’s candidate Dainius Žalimas and around 2,500 for incumbent President Gitanas Nausėda.
Other candidates have started collecting voter signatures as well, including lawyer Ignas Vėgėlė, Democrats For Lithuania nominee Giedrimas Jegnlinskas, Labour Party’s leader Andrius Mazuronis, Farmers and Greens’ candidate Aurelijus Veryga, MP Remigijus Žemaitaitis and independents Eduardas Vaitkus and Valdas Tutkus.
The remaining candidates will receive forms for signature collection once they submit their applications to the VRK by 8 March. These include Zenonas Andrulėnas, Gintautas Kniukšta, Arūnas Rimkus and Žilvinas Treigys.
At least 20,000 voter signatures have to be collected by 28 March. The VRK will officially announce the list of presidential candidates by 11 April. Lithuanians will go to the polls in the 2024 presidential election on 12 May.
In the previous election in 2019, Nausėda collected the required number of signatures in two and a half days, while Šimonytė in one day. Nausėda won the race, while Šimonytė was the runner-up.
