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| - The centre-right has won Lithuania's parliamentary elections, results showed Monday, opening the way to a possible all-female coalition after a campaign dominated by the pandemic. With nearly all ballots counted, the Homeland Union had 50 seats in the 141-member parliament, while the ruling leftist Lithuanian Peasants and Green Union party was on 32 seats. Ex-finance minister Ingrida Simonyte, the conservative candidate for prime minister, is now expected to ally with two liberal parties, which won 13 and 11 seats respectively. Both of the liberal parties are led by women. Coalition talks began on Monday but are expected to take weeks and analysts say the new government might not be sworn in until December. "Three parties agreed to start discussions about the new coalition. But nothing is agreed until everything is agreed," Simonyte said. The election victor also criticised the government's record on fighting the pandemic. "It looks like we did not exploit the summer period to improve our capabilities to combat the second wave of coronavirus and what we are witnessing is a confusion in decision-making. "When he have a low trust in the government, society does not necessarily listen to its recommendations. We have been lacking the voice of experts, scientists and medics," she said. vab/dt/jj
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