Lithuania elects first female president

Grybauskaite won 68.2 percent of the votes casted by over half of the country's 2.67 million eligible voters, according to the figures released by the Central Electoral Commission of Lithuania. Grybauskaite enjoyed a comfortable lead over her closest rival Algirdas Butkevicius, leader of the opposition Social Democrat Party who came second with 11.74 percent of the votes. According to the figures, the turnout was 51 percent, indicating there was no need for a run-off. "There will be no second round as the president of Lithuania was elected tonight," said Zenonas Vaigauskas, chairman of the Central Electoral Commission. Millions of Lithuanians went to the polls on Sunday to choose anew president for the country which has plunged into a deep recession due to the global financial crisis. According to Lithuania's election rules, Grybauskaite has to win over 50 percent of the votes cast on Sunday to secure an outright victory and more than half of all eligible voters must turn out for the election to be valid. Otherwise, a run-off between the two leading candidates will be held on June 7. If confirmed, Grybauskaite will become the first female president in Lithuania. But for Grybauskaite, what lies ahead is a huge task of how to save the Baltic country's economy, Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.chinaview.cn for full version.