New President of Lithuania won the vote of the Polish minority

The strategic partnership between Lithuania and Poland will be maintained - assured the new Lithuanian president - Rolandas Paksas during his first press conference. In the Sunday elections he beat the current president Valdas Adamkus by receiving 10% more votes. "Taking the election opinion polls into account, the result comes as a surprise. We would like to congratulate the new President," said Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz. Paksas was supported by the vast majority of Poles living in Lithuania - in one region of the country up to 80% of Poles voted for him. He gained recognition and favourable ratings due to the fact that when Paksas was the Mayor of Vilnius, a Polish political party was part of the governing coalition. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A6) A.C.