Lithuanian opposition party on course to win

VILNIUS, Lithuania – A center-left opposition party that campaigned on promises to end budget cuts and increase social spending has won Lithuania’s parliamentary election, according to a near complete vote count late Sunday, marking a defeat of four years of unpopular austerity measures.

The Social Democrats, which governed from 2001-08, vowed to form a coalition government that would end current austerity policies.

They also promised to spend more to boost living standards in the small East European nation, which in 2009-10 saw one of Europe’s worst recessions.

– Wire reports