Lithuanian PM Skvernelis says will quit after loss in presidential race

Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis on Sunday said he would quit in July after he was eliminated from a presidential runoff that will see an independent economist square off against a conservative on May 26.

Lithuania's Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis, talks to journalists during the presidential election in Vilnius on May 12, 2019. [Photo: AFP]

"The failure to get into the second round is an assessment of me as a politician," Skvernelis told public broadcaster LRT, adding that he would tender his resignation in July.

Gitanas Nauseda, an economist and political novice topped the first round, partial official results showed, and will face runner-up Ingrida Simonyte, a conservative ex-finance minister, in the second round set to focus on inequality and poverty.