Lithuania goes to polls in parliamentary election

VILNIUS, October 12 (RIA Novosti) - Lithuanians went to the polls on Sunday in a parliamentary election, in which no party is expected to win a majority.

As well as electing the country's 141-member parliament, Lithuanians are also voting in a referendum on whether to keep an outdated Soviet-era nuclear power plant operating in the country.

The Ignalina NPP is similar to the one in Chernobyl, Ukraine, the scene of the world's worst nuclear accident in 1986.

Under pressure from European countries, Lithuania decommissioned the Ignalina NPP's first power-generating unit in 2004 and pledged to shut down the second reactor by late 2009, in line with EU nuclear safety requirements. The decision made the Lithuanian energy sector more dependent on Russian natural gas supplies.

Lithuanian Economy Minister Vytas Navickas earlier said Lithuania may extend the use of its Ignalina nuclear power plant until 2012.