Nearly 80% of Lithuania’s population supports introducing universal military conscription, with most respondents favouring mandatory service for men, according to a survey commissioned by the Universal Defence Association.
The poll found that 76.3% of respondents support universal conscription. More than 40% said only men should be drafted, while nearly 19% favoured conscription for both men and women.
More than 23% preferred Lithuania’s current partial conscription system, while 14.5% said the country should have a fully professional military without conscripts.
More than half of those surveyed said universal conscription should be introduced as soon as possible, while 25% said it should be implemented by 2030. About 12% opposed introducing universal conscription altogether.
“The conclusion is that people are ready and expect decision-makers to transition to universal conscription in the coming years,” said Tomas Godliauskas, head of the Universal Defence Association. “We see that public favourability for a faster implementation of the universal conscription model is indeed high.”
