Pollster Baltijos Tyrimai interviewed personally 1,018 respondents (aged 18 and older) on 16-27 November at 109 sampling points. They were asked to name their favourite candidates to take up the president's job if the elections were held the next Sunday.
Among those polled, 31.1% said they would like to see Nausėda as president for another five-year term. He was approved by 77% of the respondents against 17%. Six percent of those polled had no opinion on the current president.
The opinion poll suggests Nausėda leads by a wide margin over his closest rival lawyer Ignas Vėgėlė, who announced his presidential bid in mid-November. Vėgėlė garnered support from 12.7% of the voters. Among those polled, 45% said they trusted the politician, while 31% said they did not.
MEP Vilija Blinkevčiūtė, chair of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP), ranks third, within the margin of error of Vėgėlė, with 11.5% of the votes. Fifty-nine percent of respondents hold a favourable opinion of Blinkevičiūtė and 31% disapprove of her. The politician has not yet announced whether she will run for president.
Prime Minister Šimonytė follows with support from 5.6% of the respondents willing to cast their vote for her. The politician’s approval ratings stood at 21% against 74%.
The next presidential candidate in the ranking is MP Aurelijus Veryga, who was nominated by the Farmers and Greens Union (LVŽS). He enjoys support from 3.6% of the respondents. Among those polled, 36% said they viewed the former health minister favourably, while 52% held a negative opinion of him.
The survey’s margin of error is 3.1%.
Lithuania will hold presidential elections on 12 May 2024.