Lithuania's Grybauskaite declares victory after run-off

PanARMENIAN.Net - Lithuania's incumbent President Dalia Grybauskaite has declared victory following a second round of voting in the Baltic country's presidential elections, according to BBC News.

With nearly all votes counted she had won 58% with her Social Democrat rival Zigmantas Balcytis trailing on 42%.

Grybauskaite thanked her supporters for granting her a second term. "No president has been elected twice in a row in Lithuania. It will be a historic victory for all of you," she said.

President Grybauskaite's reputation for plain speaking has led to her being dubbed the "Iron Lady", the nickname of former British PM Margaret Thatcher whom she describes as one of her political models.

The 58-year-old former EU budget chief - who ran as an independent - focused her campaign on national security. Ahead of the second-round vote, she said Russia had chosen "confrontation, aggression and a review of post-war peace structures".