Lithuania counts votes in run-off election with opposition seeking to cement win
Social Democrats (SD) ahead after Oct. 13 first-round vote
SD leader has said in coalition talks with two parties
Growing wealth gap, national security dominate election
Updates throughout with polls closing, turnout in paragraph 6
By Andrius Sytas
VILNIUS, Oct 27 (Reuters) -Vote counting began in Lithuania on Sunday in a parliamentary election dominated by concerns over the cost of living and potential threats from neighbouring Russia, with the opposition Social Democrats ahead after the first round.
The Baltic country of 2.9 million people has a hybrid voting system in which half of parliament was elected by popular vote on Oct. 13. The remainder was being decided on Sunday in district-based run-off votes between the top two candidates, a process that favours the larger parties.
The Social Democrats (SD) won 20% of the popular vote earlier this month, making it the largest party ahead of the ruling Homeland Union with 18% and the anti-establishment Nemunas Dawn on 15%.
If the left-leaning SD party succeeds in forming a government, it is expected to maintain Lithuania's hawkish stance against Russia and hefty defence spending.
Lithuania will spend about 3% of GDP on its armed forces this year, according to NATO estimates, making it the military alliance's sixth-biggest spender.
Polling stations closed at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT), with results expected at about midnight (2200 GMT). Some 41.3% of eligible voters cast a ballot on Sunday, up from 38.7% at run-offs in the last parliamentary election four years ago, official data showed.
"Probably there will be some changes, but I want to believe that direction will remain the same," Marius Slepetis, a businessman, told Reuters after his young daughter posted his ballot paper into the box.
Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte's centre-right three-party coalition has seen its popularity eroded by inflation that topped 20% two years ago, deteriorating public services and a widening rich-poor gap.
After the first round, SD leader Vilija Blinkeviciute said she was already in talks about forming a majority coalition government with two other parties - For Lithuania, and the Farmers and Greens Union.
The SD made a pact with opposition parties to support all run-off candidates in contests against Simonyte's Homeland Union nominees.
Domestic economic issues were in focus during the election campaign, with the SD vowing to tackle increased inequality by raising taxes on wealthier Lithuanians to help fund more spending on healthcare and social support.
But national security is also a major concern in Lithuania, which lies on the eastern flank of NATO and the European Union and shares a border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and Belarus, a close Moscow ally.
"For me, it's of utmost importance to keep the calmness, and to stop the war in Ukraine," said Mykolas Zvinys, 79, before casting his vote on the outskirts of the capital, Vilnius.
Three-quarters of Lithuanians think Russia could attack their country in the near future, a Baltijos Tyrimai/ELTA opinion poll found in May.
Reporting by Andrius Sytas and Janis Laizans;
Editing by Helen Popper and Frances Kerry
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