"Respecting all the candidates, but with only one pick available, I choose Radvilė (Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė - ELTA). For those who think alike, I invite you to participate (in the voting process – ELTA)," Šimonytė said on Facebook on Friday.
The former prime minister also observed that three out of the five candidates vying for the post of the TS-LKD chair were ministers in her Cabinet.
"I chose all three of them, I trusted them. (…) They were good in the job that that we did together as the Government," Šimonytė wrote.
She also said Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė has been part of the TS-LKD community "virtually since she was born."
"From her young days on the right side of history and in active work for our future in the European Union, for our brothers fighting for their freedom, for the Baltic Sea, against Putin’s invasions, annexations by tanks and Lukoils. To the responsibility for the largest TS-LKD group in the Seimas that managed to work without distraction and in unison throughout the whole of a difficult parliamentary term, regardless of the differences of opinion on individual issues," Šimonytė wrote.
On Christmas Eve, the politician announced she would not be seeking the TS-LKD leader’s post despite wide support from local branches of the party.
Previously it was reported that TS-LKD branches nominated Šimonytė for the leadership election 69 times. Former defence minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas and Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė, who shortly was education minister in Šimonytė’s Cabinet, were nominated 65 and 29 times respectively.
Besides Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė, the contenders in the race MPs Laurynas Kasčiūnas and Arvydas Anušauskas, both former defence ministers, MP Žygimantas Pavilionis and Daivaras Rybakovas, head of the TS-LKD Jurbarkas branch.
Both party members and supporters will be able to vote in the election. Registrations for party supporters remain open until 19 January, while TS-LKD members will have their say in the election without registering.
The TS-LKD will be electing its chair on 9 February 2025. The second round would take place on 23 February if needed.