VILNIUS : A Tight Race

Lithuanians are to cast their ballots Sunday in a photo-finish race for the post-Soviet presidency of the Baltic country of 3.7 million.

Although the two candidates’ programs are largely the same--promoting a continued transition to a market-driven economy and friendly foreign relations--their backgrounds could not be more different.

Acting President and former Lithuanian Communist Party leader Algirdas Brazauskas, who now heads the Democratic Party of Labor, leads in the most recent opinion polls, with 46% of respondents leaning toward him. His rival, Stasys Lozoraitis, registered 40% in the polls despite having only recently returned to Lithuania after a 50-year absence. Lozoraitis was the Lithuanian ambassador to the United States.