Lithuania elections: Who will be the next president and why it matters

Lithuania holds presidential elections on Sunday following a campaign dominated by security concerns over neighboring Russia.

Here's what you need to know about the candidates and their policies.

Who are the candidates?

Former banker and incumbent Gitanas Nauseda, 60, is the heavy favorite to win another five-year term, saying he expects to receive 75 percent of votes in the second round two of the presidential election.

Nauseda, 60, a former senior economist with Swedish banking group SEB who is not affiliated with any party, won the first round of the election on May 12 with 44 percent of the votes, short of the 50 percent he needed for an outright victory. He has established himself as a promoter of the welfare state with conservative social views in a Catholic majority county. 

He is running against Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte, 49, from the ruling center-right Homeland Union party that has been trailing in opinion polls. She was the only woman out of eight candidates in the first round and came second with 20 percent.

Simonyte, a fiscal conservative with liberal views on social issues, is known for her sense of humour and for writing her own social media posts. She draws support from liberal voters in bigger cities and traditional conservative voters.

What are the big issues? 

Both candidates agree that the NATO and EU member of 2.8 million should boost defense spending to counter perceived threats amid the Ukraine conflict.

Lithuania is a significant donor to Ukraine and despite Russia regularly dismissing the idea that it might attack a NATO member, it has been a key issue for the Lithuanian electorate. 

According to one recent poll, over half of Lithuanians still believe an attack from their neighbor is possible or even very likely. 

Nauseda told a debate on Tuesday he sees Russia as an enemy. "Our enemies - who even call themselves our enemies, who are enemies of us and all the democratic world - are attempting to destablilize our politics, and we must do all to resist."

Both Nauseda and Simonyte support increasing defense spending to at least three percent of Lithuania's gross domestic product, from the 2.75 percent planned for this year.

But Nauseda, who is a social conservative, has clashed with Simonyte on other issues, including whether to give a legal recognition to same-sex civil partnerships in the predominantly Catholic country, a policy Nauseda opposes.

"I would like to see faster progress, more openness... more tolerance for people who are different from us," Simonyte said when casting an early vote. The former finance minister added that if she won, "the direction for the country - pro-European, pro-Western - would not change".

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Lithuania's president has a semi-executive role, which includes heading the armed forces, chairing the supreme defense and national security policy body and representing the country at European Union and NATO summits.

Essentially they steer defense and foreign policy in tandem with the government, can veto laws and has a say in the appointment of key officials such as judges, the chief prosecutor, the chief of defence and the head of the central bank.

Polling stations close at 1700 GMT, with no exit polls expected.

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