UK vote in Lithuania's elections

Lithuania will be holding parliamentary elections on 12 October.

For the first time, registered Lithuanians will be able to vote at several polling stations across the UK.

BBC News Online has spoken to UK-based Lithuanians to find out about their lives and voting in the elections.

LAURA DZELZYTE, 26, LONDON

I studied at the University of Sussex for a law degree and I have been living in the UK for five years.

I like living in London and I embrace the British way of life. After a while you become a part of a global phenomenon and I don't feel that I am either Lithuania or British, but something in between.

You can lose your identity because of globalisation. I think about going back home one day but my sister doesn't and she seems divorced from the Lithuanian culture.

I am the chairperson of the Lithuanian Youth Association and there are around 500 members.

To raise interest in the elections, I have organised a mass event with a live rock band on the day of the vote. The event is supported by the Lithuanian government.

This is the first election since joining the EU that migrants can really show what they want politically. I will be voting and I am very much looking forward to it.

DARIUS PASKAUSKAS, 40, KENT

I am a director of an estate agency in Canary Wharf in east London. I decided to come to the UK because I think it is one of the best countries in the world.

I was a graduate medical doctor in Lithuania. But when I arrived here in 1996 my medical diploma wasn't recognised. I am quite ambitious so I thought about changing careers and went for estate agency.

I will be voting in the elections because I care about what is happening in Lithuania.

I think it is important to have an awareness of the politics of your country.

Since I came to the UK, the number of Lithuanian groups has grown. The Lithuanian community is more active now and it is more informed about what is going on.

They know the elections are taking place and so I think this time there will be more people voting than ever before.

The Lithuanian embassy has done a good job in alerting people to vote in order to make a difference.

DR RENATA RETKUTE, 34, SURREY

I wanted to come to the UK because I heard so many goods things about its academic system and I have not been disappointed so far. I came in 2000 to do a PhD in mathematics.

I am a researcher in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Surrey. Due to the nature of academic career, in a few years I may return to Lithuania. I never count out this possibility.

Retaining the Lithuanian identity is very important. My husband and I encourage our children to speak and read books in Lithuanian, and we always take them to gatherings in the Lithuanian community.

In a modern world every citizen has a responsibility to be politically active or at least cast his or her vote in local, national or EU elections.

I will vote not just because I have a Lithuanian passport, but because I think that I have political views and ideas which could be progressive and useful for Lithuania's future as a member of the EU.

At the same time, I am interested in political life in UK; I always vote in elections and I keep an eye on what is going on in my local borough.

We live in the European Union and I am happy to be able to have my say both in the UK and Lithuania - every opinion and every vote counts!