APPROVED BY
Republic of Lithuania Constitutional Law
No XIV-1381 of 19 July 2022
(As last amended on 7 November 2023 – No XIV-2216)
REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
ELECTORAL CODE
CHAPTER I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Relations governed by the Electoral Code of the Republic of Lithuania
1. The Electoral Code of the Republic of Lithuania shall set out the procedure for the election of Members of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania; the President of the Republic of Lithuania; members of municipal councils; and municipal mayors (hereinafter: ‘mayors’); the procedure for the election of Members of the European Parliament; the framework and procedure for financing electoral political campaigns; and the status, operating principles, tasks, functions and procedure for the establishment and organisation of the work of the Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Lithuania and electoral committees.
Article 2. Electoral systems
1. Elections in the Republic of Lithuania shall be held under proportional and direct representation.
2. Members of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania shall be elected for a term of four years. A total of 71 Members of the Seimas shall be elected under direct representation in single-member constituencies. A total of 70 Members of the Seimas shall be elected under proportional representation by preferential voting in the multi-member constituency that comprises the whole territory of the Republic of Lithuania.
3. The President of the Republic shall be elected for a five-year term under direct representation in the single-member constituency.
4. Members of municipal councils shall be elected for a four-year term under proportional representation by preferential voting in multi-member constituencies that coincide with the territories of municipalities. The following number of members shall be elected to municipal councils:
2) a total of 41 municipal councillors in municipalities with a population ranging between 250 000 and 500 000;
3) a total of 31 municipal councillors in municipalities with a population ranging between 100 000 and 250 000;
4) a total of 27 municipal councillors in municipalities with a population ranging between 50 000 and 100 000;
5) a total of 25 municipal councillors in municipalities with a population ranging between 20 000 and 50 000;
6) a total of 21 municipal councillors in municipalities with a population ranging between 10 000 and 20 000;
7) a total of 17 municipal councillors in municipalities with a population ranging between 5 000 and 10 000; and
5. At least 110 days before the polling day, the Central Electoral Commission shall announce the number of municipal councillors to be elected in each municipality in view of the number of inhabitants residing therein. This number shall be established based on records of persons with a declared and with an undeclared place of residence, where such records represent the situation for 1 January of the calendar year preceding the calendar year in which an election to municipal councils must be held, and given such data is published on the website of the data processor of the Register of Legal Entities of the Republic of Lithuania under the procedure and within the time limit set out in the regulations of the said data processor.
6. Mayors shall be elected for a term of four years under direct representation in single-member constituencies that coincide with the territories of municipalities.
7. Members of the European Parliament shall be elected for a five-year term under proportional representation by preferential voting in the single multi-member constituency that comprises the whole territory of the Republic of Lithuania. The number of Members of the European Parliament elected in the Republic of Lithuania shall be established by legal acts of the European Union.
Article 3. Principles governing elections
Elections shall be governed by the principles of equality and direct universal suffrage by secret ballot. Elections shall also meet the requirements for transparency, publicity, justice and good faith, fair competition between persons eligible to vote and transparency of financing of election campaigns.
Article 4. Universal suffrage
The eligibility to vote for candidates and the right to stand as candidates in elections shall be limited to the persons specified in the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and in this Code.
Article 5. Equal suffrage
1. Throughout the preparation for and holding of elections, the principle of equal treatment shall apply to all voters. The votes of all voters shall be equal and shall have the same weight in determining the election results.
2. Each voter shall have only one vote to cast for a candidate in the single-member constituency in each round of an election.
3. Each voter shall have only one vote to cast for a list of candidates in a multi-member constituency in each round of an election.
Article 6. Direct elections
There shall be no voting by proxy in elections of Members of the Seimas, President of the Republic, municipal councillors, mayors, and Members of the European Parliament.
Article 7. Secret ballot
2. Necessary measures must be taken to enable every voter to mark a ballot paper in secret and without interference.
3. Voting for another person and proxy voting shall be prohibited. Voters unable to vote independently due to disability must be enabled to choose freely to either vote with the assistance of another person trusted thereby, under the conditions set out in this Code, or vote in polling stations adapted to the needs of persons with disabilities.
4. Exercising any control and/or unlawful influence on the voter’s will to either vote or refrain from voting in favour of any particular candidate or a list of candidates shall be prohibited.
Article 8. Eligibility to vote
1. The right to elect Members of the Seimas and the President of the Republic shall be granted to citizens of the Republic of Lithuania who have reached the age of 18 or over on polling day.
2. The right to elect municipal councillors and the mayor shall be granted to permanent residents of the respective municipality who have reached the age of 18 or over on polling day.
3. Eligibility to vote in local and mayoral elections shall be reserved to citizens of the Republic of Lithuania, nationals of another Member State of the European Union entitled to reside in the Republic of Lithuania, and other persons, given they have a documented proof of being entitled to permanent residence in the Republic of Lithuania and provided that they have declared the given municipality as their place of residence under the legislation of the Republic of Lithuania at least 60 days in advance of the polling day or have been entered in the records of persons who have not declared their place of residence in the given municipality.
4. Eligibility to elect Members of the European Parliament shall be reserved to citizens of the Republic of Lithuania and nationals of other Member States of the European Union permanently residing in the Republic of Lithuania who have reached the age of 18 or over on polling day.
5. A national of another Member State of the European Union who, under the legislation of the Republic of Lithuania, has acquired the right to reside in the Republic of Lithuania and has declared the place of residence in the Republic of Lithuania no later than 60 days before the polling day, shall be deemed to be a national of another Member State of the European Union permanently residing in the Republic of Lithuania.
Article 9. Limitations to eligibility to vote
1. A person adjudicated as legally incapable in areas related to the implementation of electoral law shall not be eligible to vote in any elections in the Republic of Lithuania.
2. Eligibility to vote in an election to the European Parliament shall be limited to voting in a single chosen Member State of the European Union.
3. Persons non-eligible to elect Members of the European Parliament in the Member State of the European Union of which they are nationals shall not be eligible to elect Members to the European Parliament in the Republic of Lithuania.
Article 10. Eligibility to stand as a candidate in elections
1. Eligibility to stand as candidates in an election to the Seimas shall be reserved to citizens of the Republic of Lithuania having reached the age of 21 or over on polling day, given they permanently residence in the Republic of Lithuania and are not bound by an oath or a pledge of allegiance to a foreign state.
2. Eligibility for election as President of the Republic shall be reserved to citizens of the Republic of Lithuania as a home Member State of the European Union, given they have resided in Lithuania at least for the past three years, have reached at least the age of 40 before the polling day, and are eligible for election to the Seimas.
3. A permanent resident of a particular municipality who has reached the age of 18 or over on polling day is eligible for election as municipal councillor.
4. A citizen of the Republic of Lithuania who has reached the age of 18 or over on polling day and who is a permanent resident of the municipality is eligible for election as mayor.
5. The status of a permanent resident of a given municipality shall be reserved to citizens of the Republic of Lithuania, citizens of other Member States of the European Union entitled to reside in the Republic of Lithuania, and other persons who have a documented proof of being entitled to permanent residence in the Republic of Lithuania, provided that they have declared the given municipality as their place of residence under the legislation of the Republic of Lithuania at least 60 days in advance of the polling day or have been entered in the records of persons who have not declare their place of residence in the given municipality.
6. Eligibility for standing as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament in the Republic of Lithuania shall be reserved to citizens of the Republic of Lithuania and of other Member States of the European Union who permanently reside in the Republic of Lithuania, provided they have reached the age of 21 or over on polling day and provided they are not standing as candidates in elections to the European Parliament in any other Member State of the European Union.
7. The status of a citizen of another Member State of the European Union permanently residing in the Republic of Lithuania and eligible for standing as a candidate in an election to the European Parliament shall be limited to nationals of other Member States of the European Union who have acquired the right to reside in the Republic of Lithuania under the laws of the Republic of Lithuania and who have declared their place of residence in the Republic of Lithuania no later than 60 days before the polling day.
Article 11. Limitations to eligibility to stand as a candidate in elections
1. Eligibility to stand as a candidate in elections shall be lost, where at least one of the following grounds exists:
2. Eligibility for election as Member of the Seimas and President of the Republic shall be lost where the following circumstances exist:
3) the person is non-eligible, under legislation or statutes, to participate in any activities of political organisations;
3. A person removed by impeachment from any office, including the office of a Member of the Seimas, may be elected as Member of the Seimas or President of the Republic not earlier than ten years after the decision on removal from office or revocation of the mandate of a Member of the Seimas.
4. A person who has held the office of President of the Republic for two consecutive terms is no longer eligible for election as President of the Republic for a third consecutive term.
Article 12. Regular elections
1. A regular election to the Seimas shall be held on the second Sunday of October, in the year of expiry of the powers of Members of the Seimas. The President of the Republic shall announce a regular election to the Seimas no later than six months prior to the expiry of the powers of Members of the Seimas. The decree of the President of the Republic on a regular election to the Seimas shall specify the date of the election of the new Seimas. Where the President of the Republic does not announce a regular election to the Seimas four months before the expiry of the powers of Members of the Seimas, the Central Electoral Commission shall hold a regular election to the Seimas at the time specified in this paragraph. A regular election following an early election to the Seimas shall be held at the time specified in this paragraph in the year of expiry of the powers of Members of the Seimas.
2. A regular presidential election shall be held on the last Sunday two months before the expiry of the term of office of the President of the Republic. The Seimas shall announce a regular presidential election no later than six months before the expiry of the presidential term of office. The resolution of the Seimas on a regular presidential election shall specify the date of the presidential election.
3. A regular of local and mayoral election shall be held in all municipalities simultaneously, not earlier than two months and no later than one month prior to the expiry of the powers of the incumbent municipal councillors and mayors. The Seimas shall announce the regular local and mayoral election no later than six months before the expiry of their powers. The resolution of the Seimas on the regular of local and mayoral election shall specify the date of the said election.
4. A regular European Parliament election shall be held in the Republic of Lithuania on a Sunday that falls on the same period when the European Parliament election is held in all Member States of the European Union. The Seimas shall announce the fact of holding the European Parliament election and its date no later than six months before the Sunday of the specified period.
5. If the date of a regular election coincides with military actions, the Seimas or the President of the Republic shall extend the powers of the Seimas, the President of the Republic or municipal councils and mayors. In this case, an election must be held no later than three months after the end of the war.
Article 13. Early elections
1. An early election to the Seimas may be held under a resolution of the Seimas adopted by a majority of at least three fifths of the votes of all the Members of the Seimas; alternatively, an early election may be declared by the President of the Republic in the cases set out in Article 58 of the Constitution. A resolution of the Seimas or a decree of the President of the Republic concerning an early election to the Seimas shall specify the date of the election of the new Seimas. An election to the new Seimas shall be held no later than within three months from the date of the adoption of the decision on an early election to the Seimas.
2. Upon termination of a mandate of a Member of the Seimas elected in the single-member constituency, an early election of the Member of the Seimas must be held within six months at the latest. The election may not be held where the intended date of the early election of a Member of the Seimas falls within the period of less than a year to go before the date of a regular election to the Seimas, calculated under the Constitution.
3. An early presidential election shall be announced under the following circumstances:
1) in the case set out in Article 87 of the Constitution, the new Seimas elected in an early election may announce an early presidential election, given the early election to the Seimas had been announced under the circumstances set out in Article 58(2) of the Constitution. In such a case, the respective resolution of the Seimas shall be adopted within 30 days of the date of the first sitting of the newly elected Seimas by a majority of at least three fifths of the votes of all the Members of the Seimas. The resolution of the Seimas shall also specify the consecutive number and duration of the presidential term of the prospective President. Where an early presidential election is announced within less than three years of the first presidential term of office, the President of the Republic may be elected only for the remainder of the first term of office and this period shall not be considered to be the second presidential term of office. Where an early presidential election is announced during the second presidential term of office, the incumbent President of the Republic may be elected only for the remainder of the second term of office. Should this be the case, the re-elected President of the Republic shall be deemed to have been elected for a second presidential term of office, provided more than three years have passed since the regular election in which that President was elected to the first presidential term of office;
2) under the circumstances set out in Article 89 of the Constitution, the Seimas must announce an early presidential election within ten days at the latest. The election must be held within two months at the latest. The resolution of the Seimas on the announcement of the early presidential election shall specify the date of the presidential election. Where the Seimas is unable to convene and announce a presidential election, the Government of the Republic of Lithuania shall announce the election. The resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania on the announcement of an early presidential election shall specify the date of presidential election.
4. Where the powers of a municipal council have been terminated under the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Direct Rule on the Municipal Territory, an early local election shall be held after the expiry of temporary direct rule on the territory of that municipality.
5. An early mayoral election shall be held upon premature termination of the mayoral term of office. It must be held within six months at the latest. An early mayoral election shall not be held where the intended date of the early mayoral election leaves less than a year before the date of holding the regular local and a regular mayoral election, calculated in line with the Constitution.
Article 14. Rerun elections
1. A rerun election shall be held where the regular or early election has failed or where its results have been declared invalid.
2. The Central Electoral Commission shall announce the date of the rerun election no later than 15 days after the grounds for holding it appear. A rerun election must be held no later than three months after the date of its announcement.
3. A rerun elections shall exclude voting abroad and aboard the ships flying the flag of the State of Lithuania, apart from cases where either voters residing abroad, or crew members and passengers are entered on the electoral roll of the constituency in which the rerun elections are held.
4. The Central Electoral Commission may not re-map constituencies during the preparation for and holding of rerun elections. Citizens with a permanent residence of a given constituency shall be added to the electoral roll of the constituency once they reach the age of at least 18 on the day of the rerun election; only those who have lost their eligibility to vote shall be removed from the electoral roll. The Central Electoral Commission shall decide on the establishment of constituency electoral committees and polling district electoral committees.
Article 15. Territorial electoral units
1. The entire territory of the Republic of Lithuania shall be divided into territorial electoral units. No constituent part of the territory of the Republic of Lithuania shall fall within more than one territorial electoral unit of the same category.
2. The following territorial electoral units shall be established in the Republic of Lithuania for the purpose of preparation for and holding of elections:
3. A constituency shall constitute a territorial electoral unit in which voting and/or election results are determined.
Article 16. Establishment of constituencies
2. Elections to the Seimas shall be organized and held in the following territorial units:
2) in 71 single-member constituencies set up by the Central Electoral Commission on the basis of the number of voters in the constituency, the territorial division of the Republic of Lithuania into single-member constituencies applicable during the previous election to the Seimas, and the administrative division. The number of voters in the single-member constituency must stand between 0.9 and 1.1 of an average number of voters per single-member constituency.
3. Presidential elections shall be held in the single single-member constituency that coincides with the territory of the Republic of Lithuania.
4. Local elections shall be held in a multi-member constituency that coincides with the territory of a municipality. Mayoral elections shall be held in the single-member constituency that coincides with the territory of a municipality.
5. Elections to the European Parliament shall be held in the single multi-member constituency that coincides with the territory of the Republic of Lithuania.
6. The Central Electoral Commission shall establish and publish on its website, at least 210 days before the polling day, the list of polling districts that constitute the constituencies, the number of voters in each constituency, the addresses of the headquarters of the constituency electoral committees, and the geographic coordinates of the facilities housing the polling stations.
Article 17. Single-member constituency of the Lithuanians of the world
1. The single-member constituency of the Lithuanians of the world shall be set up for the purposes of the elections to the Seimas. For the purposes of setting up a single-member constituency comprised of citizens of the Republic of Lithuania voting abroad, the number of voters in the constituency shall be determined by calculating the electoral turnout in the previous election to the Seimas and the electoral turnout of voters in diplomatic missions and consular posts of the Republic of Lithuania, as well as in additional polling stations abroad under the diplomatic missions or consular posts of the Republic of Lithuania.
2. The single-member constituency of the Lithuanians of the world shall be set up when the electoral turnout of voters staying abroad in the previous election to the Seimas and the turnout of those voting in diplomatic missions and consular posts of the Republic of Lithuania, as well as in additional polling stations abroad under the diplomatic missions or consular posts of the Republic of Lithuania, determined one year before the election to the Seimas, exceed the 1.1 average of voters in all single-member constituencies at home. The citizens of the Republic of Lithuania staying in other countries shall be entered on the electoral roll of this single-member constituency of Lithuania; accordingly, the number of single-member constituencies on the territory of the Republic of Lithuania shall be reduced by one constituency.
3. The second single-member constituency of Lithuanians of the world may be set up where the voter turnout in the previous election to the Seimas in diplomatic missions and consular posts of the Republic of Lithuania abroad as well as in additional polling stations abroad under the diplomatic missions and consular posts of the Republic of Lithuania exceeds the average number of voters of two single-member constituencies. The third single-member constituency of Lithuanians of the world may be set up where the voter turnout abroad exceeds the number of voters in three single-member constituencies on the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, given the number of single-member constituencies on the territory of the Republic of Lithuania is reduced accordingly.
Article 18. Establishment of polling districts
1. For the purposes of preparation for and holding of elections, all municipal territory shall be divided into polling districts. The following factors shall be taken into account:
2. The Central Electoral Commission, on the recommendation of the director of the municipal administration, shall approve and, if necessary, update the division of municipal territory into permanent polling districts. At least 180 days before the polling day, the Central Electoral Commission shall publish on its website the list of approved polling districts, the addresses of their polling stations, and the geographic coordinates of the facilities housing the polling stations.
3. The director of the municipal administration shall submit for approval the division of the municipal territory into polling districts and concurrently indicate the proposed name for each polling district, the geographic coordinates of its boundaries, the number of voters in the polling district, the address of the polling station, and the geographic coordinates of the facilities housing the polling station.
4. If necessary, the boundaries of the polling district and the address of the polling station may be changed no later than 100 days before the polling day, provided this is done within the boundaries of the single-member constituency. The municipal administrations shall update the geographic coordinates of the boundaries of the polling district by means of electronic communications under the procedure set out by the Central Electoral Commission.
Article 19. Electoral committees
1. Elections shall be organised and held by the following entities:
Article 20. Operational framework of electoral committees
1. The Central Electoral Commission shall abide by the Constitution, this Code, other laws, the Rules of Procedure of the Central Electoral Commission (hereinafter: ‘the Rules of Procedure’) and other legal acts.
Article 21. Principle of legality
1. The activities and decisions of the electoral committees shall comply with the requirements of this Code and other legal acts.
Article 22. Principle of independence
1. In the exercise of their functions and decisions on matters falling within their remit, the electoral committees shall be independent from national and municipal institutions, officials, political and public organisations, and other persons.
2. Electoral committees shall be free from any political, economic, psychological, social coercion or other undue impact that may affect their decisions.
3. The chair or member of the electoral committee must inform the Central Electoral Commission of any attempt to influence an electoral committee, its chair or any of its members. The Chair or member of the Central Electoral Commission shall notify the Seimas of any attempts to influence the Central Electoral Commission, its Chair or any of its members, and shall make this known to the public through the media.
Article 23. Principle of collegiality
The operation and decision-making of the electoral committees shall be governed by the principle of collegiality.
Article 24. Principle of publicity
1. The activities carried out and decisions taken by electoral committees in the run-up to and during the elections shall be public, without prejudice to the protection of personal data of applicants who are not involved in the electoral process and who are not public persons.
2. Representatives for elections and election observers may observe the meetings of the electoral committees upon presentation of certificates in the prescribed format or on the mandate of the political organisations in charge of authorising representatives for elections and election observers. Media representatives may observe meetings of the electoral committees upon presentation of an official identification document or a staff ID card. Attendance of any meeting of an electoral committee shall be open to any candidate, political organisation or their representatives provided the meeting concerns their activities or circumstances that affect them directly, or provided they are invited to the meeting by the chair of the electoral committee or commission.
3. The notification on the meeting of an electoral committee shall be published on the website of the Central Electoral Commission under the procedure set out thereby; members of the electoral committees shall be notified of the meeting under the procedure set out by the Central Electoral Commission.
4. Persons present in the meeting room of an electoral committee, as long as they remain seated, are free to record, write down in shorthand or take down everything that is said at the meeting as well as photograph, film or make video recordings of the meeting. Taking photographs, filming, or making video recordings as well as live radio-broadcasting, televising or webcasting of meetings that requires walking around the premises or using special lighting equipment shall be subject to permission of the chair of the electoral committee.
Article 25. Principle of impartiality
The operation and decision-making of electoral committees shall abide by the principles of objectivity, non-prejudice, and equal treatment.
Article 26. Requirements for members of electoral committees
1. Eligibility for membership of electoral committees shall be limited to citizens of the Republic of Lithuania of good repute, provided they are eligible for election as Members of the Seimas. This shall disregard the age threshold set for the youngest parliamentary candidate. Nevertheless, the prospective member of the electoral committee must be aged 18 or over at the time of establishment of the electoral committee. Eligibility for membership of the Central Electoral Commission, constituency electoral committees, and municipal electoral committees shall be limited to persons with a degree in higher education.
2. The person nominated by the director of the municipal administration for membership of an electoral committee must rank among career civil servants of that municipal administration.
3. Members of electoral committees appointed upon nomination by the Minister of Justice, the Lithuanian Lawyers’ Association (hereinafter: ‘the Lawyers’ Association’) and the director of the municipal administration shall, where they are members of political organisations, suspend their membership thereof prior to taking up their duties in the electoral committee and may not participate in the activities of the political organisation throughout the length of their service in the electoral committee.
4. Candidates, chairs and members of other electoral committees or referendum committees, members of citizens’ initiative groups for a referendum of the Republic of Lithuania, election or referendum observers, and election or referendum representatives are not eligible to serve as members of an electoral committee and must engage neither in the activities related to the collection of voter signatures under Article 79 in support of a candidate or list of candidates, nor in the collection of voter signatures of citizens of the Republic of Lithuania in support of calling a referendum.
5. A member of an electoral committee intending to stand as a candidate in elections must resign from office at least 30 days before the date of submission of the application documents.
6. Persons who fail to meet or who infringe the requirements set out in paragraphs 1 to 5 of Article 26 shall either be refused appointment as members of electoral committees or shall be dismissed.
7. Persons shall be considered to be not of good repute under the following circumstances:
1) if they are found guilty, by an effective court judgment, of a criminal act, provided their prior conviction has not expired yet or has not been expunged;
2) if they have been dismissed from the office of a member of the electoral committee or a referendum committee for violation of this Code or other laws, provided five years have not yet passed since such dismissal;
3) if they have been dismissed from elected or appointed office on account of a broken oath or pledge or tarnished officer’s reputation, provided three years have not passed from the date of the dismissal or entry into force of the decision to withdraw the mandate;
4) if they have been dismissed from work or position or have lost the right to engage in the activity for non-compliance with the requirements of good repute set out in law and for infringement of ethical norms set out law, provided three years have not passed since the date of dismissal, loss of duties or the right to engage in the activity in question;
8. The following principles shall apply for changing the composition of constituency electoral committees, municipal electoral committees, and polling district electoral committees:
1) the chair or any member of the electoral committee may be dismissed from office by either the electoral committee in charge of approving the composition of former, or by the Central Electoral Commission;
2) the electoral committee may consider only a well-grounded proposal by a political organisation/coalition of political organisations for the withdrawal of a member of the electoral committee originally proposed thereby;
Article 27. An oath and a written pledge of a member of an electoral committee
1. Before taking office, the Chair and members of the Central Electoral Commission shall take an oath under the procedure laid down in this Code.
2. A person acquires the status of, and takes the office of, chair or member of other electoral committees by giving a written pledge.
3. The text of the written pledge shall be as follows:
‘I, (name, surname), pledge my allegiance to the Republic of Lithuania and undertake to respect and abide by its Constitution and laws as well as to perform my duties in the electoral committee honestly and in good faith.
So help me God.’
5. The chair or member of the electoral committee shall undersign the text of the written pledge. The text of the written pledge is not subject to any amendments or modifications.
6. The written pledge shall be valid throughout the term of office of the chair/member of the electoral committee7. Written pledges made by the chairs and members of the electoral committees shall be stored under the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission.
8. When a chair/member of an electoral committee is appointed, the time at which they must make a written pledge shall be determined. Failure to make a written pledge within 15 days from the date of appointment as chair or member of an electoral committee or making it with reservations shall result in loss of office in the electoral committee.
9. The procedure for giving a written pledge shall be laid down by the Central Electoral Commission.
10. The chair/member of an electoral committee who has made a written pledge shall be prohibited from any campaigning or any other attempts to influence the will of the voters. Any infringement of this requirement or other violation of the written pledge shall result in dismissal from office and shall entail liability under the procedure laid down by law.
Article 28. Work arrangements and decision-making of electoral committees
1. The work arrangements of electoral committees shall follow the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission.
2. The decisions of the electoral committees shall be taken at their meetings. The meetings shall be convened by the chair of the electoral committees on their own initiative or at the request of at least one-third of the members of the given electoral committee. Meetings of electoral committees shall be valid provided they are attended by at least three fifths of all the members of the electoral committee in question.
3. Decisions shall be taken by an open vote of the members of the electoral committee present at the meeting. In the event of a tie, the chair of the electoral committee shall have the casting vote.
4. Members of the electoral committees who disagree with the decision of the electoral committee shall have the right to express their dissenting opinion in writing. The dissenting opinion shall be annexed to the minutes of the meeting of the electoral committee in question and shall form an integral part thereof.
Article 29. Reserve List of members of polling district electoral committees and referendum committees
1. In order to ensure the establishment of electoral committees as well as referendum committees provided for in this Code and in the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Referendums, the Central Electoral Commission shall draw up a reserve list of members of polling district electoral committees and referendum committees (hereinafter: ‘the Reserve List’). The Reserve List shall serve for appointing the missing members of the referendum committees and polling district electoral committees, as provided for in this Code and the Constitutional Law on Referendums. The Reserve List shall be established and updated under the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission.
2. For entry on the Reserve List, any person shall have the right to submit an application in the form established by the Central Electoral Commission. The application may be submitted electronically under the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission. Upon receipt of such an application, the Central Electoral Commission shall check for compliance with the membership requirements for members of electoral committees and referendum committees set out in this Code and other legal acts and shall decide whether to enter the applicant on the Reserve List or provide a well-grounded decision against it. The data of the persons entered on the Reserve List shall be processed under the laws of the Republic of Lithuania and Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation).
Article 30. Central Electoral Commission
1. The Central Electoral Commission shall be the permanent supreme state institution in charge of organising and holding elections and referendums.
2. The Central Electoral Commission shall be the coordinating authority for the implementation of Articles 20(1) and 20(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/788, the contact point as set out in Article 4(6) of Regulation (EU) 2019/788, as well as the national contact point as set out in Article 2(10) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014.
3. The Central Electoral Commission shall be a budgetary institution maintained from the state budget, bear a seal depicting the national coat of arms of Lithuania encircled by the words ‘Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Lithuania’, and have accounts in the banks of the Republic of Lithuania.
Article 31. Tasks of the Central Electoral Commission
The tasks of the Central Electoral Commission shall be as follows:
1) to prepare for and hold elections to the Seimas, presidential elections, local elections, mayoral elections, and elections to the European Parliament;
3) to monitor the financing of political organisations and political campaigns, organise independent scrutiny of their participants, assess the auditors’ observations, take decisions on irregularities, and monitor political advertising;
4) to monitor the implementation of this Code, laws, and other legal acts that govern elections and to apply liability for violations thereof;
Article 32. Functions of the Central Electoral Commission
1. In order to carry out the task set out in Article 31(1), the Central Electoral Commission shall do the following:
1) approve the descriptions that are specified in this Code and that form the basis for holding elections;
2) set out the forms and specimens for ballot papers, other documents, certificates, and seals used for election purposes;
3) divide the territory of the Republic of Lithuania into single-member constituencies and set up the single-member constituency(ies) of the Lithuanians of the world;
5) control the constituency electoral committees and municipal electoral committees and provide them with the necessary methodological, organisational and technical support;
6) monitor the use of state budget funds allocated for election purposes and manage the financial activities of constituency electoral committees, municipal electoral committees, and polling district electoral committees;
9) in the cases provided for in this Code, accept application documents, issue nominating petitions, and check them;
11) set the ordinal numbers for lists of candidates and publish data on candidates, lists of candidates, their ordinal numbers, and application documents;
13) arrange for the preparation of campaign broadcasts, determine the producers, broadcasters, participants, duration and timing of such broadcast and allocate the broadcast slots;
14) register local and international election observers in charge of observing elections throughout the territory of the Republic of Lithuania and issue them with certificates;
15) no later than four months after the date of publication of the final results of the elections, transmit to archives for permanent storage the minutes of vote counting of polling district electoral committees, constituency electoral committees, and municipal electoral committees and take the decision to destroy the election documents that are not subject to preservation;
17) set up, manage and maintain the information systems and the website of the Central Electoral Commission;
19) take stock of the election experience, raise voter awareness, and provide voters with information on elections;
21) take stock of and publish, for indefinite duration, the data on elections and referendums held in the Republic of Lithuania; initiatives of the citizens of the Republic of Lithuania and European Citizens’ Initiatives and their results; as well as data on financing and political advertising of political organisations and political election campaigns set out in this Code and laws;
22) under the procedure set out thereby and for the purposes of holding elections and referendums and implementing legislative initiatives of citizens of the Republic of Lithuania and the European Citizens’ Initiatives; for the purposes of electoral political campaigns, financing of political organisations, and transparency of dissemination of information on elections to the electorate; as well as for ensuring a functioning democracy and fair competition among candidates, the Central Electoral Commission shall, on the basis of application documents and other documents submitted by candidates or their representatives, regularly publish on its website the data on candidates, the number of votes received by them; data on members of electoral committees and commissions, members of referendum committees, observers, representatives, members of initiative groups, as well as data set out in this Code and in the laws on the financing of political organisations and political campaigns and dissemination of political advertising. The data published on the website of the Central Electoral Commission on candidates and votes received by them; as well as lists of members of electoral committees and commissions, members of referendum committees, observers, representatives, members of initiative groups, and donors of political campaigns may be modified for the purpose of correcting linguistic errors or correcting the information on the website when it differs from the information contained in the application documents and other documents. The website may not publish the personal identification numbers of candidates and other persons, the numbers of documents confirming their nationality or identity, and the addresses of their place of residence;
23) organise training for members and chairs of electoral committees under the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission;
2. In order to carry out the task set out in Article 31(2), the Central Electoral Commission shall do the following:
4) during the period between elections to the Seimas set out in this Code, adopt and announce decisions on the termination of powers of a member of the Seimas, and award mandates to candidates elected in a multi-member constituency filling the vacant seats in the Seimas previously occupied by Members of the Seimas elected in a multi-member constituency;
5) in the cases set out in this Code, during the period that falls between local and mayoral elections, adopt and publish decisions on the termination or loss of powers of municipal councillors and mayors, and grants recognition to the mandates of new municipal councillors filling the vacant seats of municipal councillors;
6) in the cases set out in this Code, in the period falling between elections to the European Parliament, adopt and publish decisions on the termination or loss of powers of a Member of the European Parliament and on filling of the vacant seat of a Member of the European Parliament;
3. In order to carry out the task set out in Article 31(3), the Central Electoral Commission shall do the following:
1) establish the procedure and methods for financing and monitoring of the financing of political campaigns, audit, and political advertising, and approve the descriptions and document forms specified in this Code;
2) make recommendations on election campaigning, political advertising, investigation into bribing of voters, and other recommendations associated with elections;
4. In order to carry out the task set out in Article 31(4), the Central Electoral Commission shall do the following:
2) within its remit, examine reports, complaints and requests from individuals regarding the financing of political organisations and electoral political campaigns, political advertising, bribing of voters and other violations related to elections, and establish the procedure for admission and processing of such reports, complaints and requests;
3) within its remit, on the basis of decisions or assessment by the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania and/or the Inspector of Journalist Ethics on whether manipulative tools have been used on accounts of an online social media platform, adopts the decision on the use of such tools in the context of electoral political campaigning;
4) publish on its website, under the procedure set out in Article 101, decisions on any established facts of bribing of voters;
5) examine complaints and take decisions concerning the decisions of constituency electoral committees and, if necessary, concerning the decisions of the polling district electoral committees; also annul the decisions of electoral committees where they fail to comply with the requirements of this Code, other laws, or other legal acts;
5. In order to carry out the task set out in Article 31(5), the Central Electoral Commission shall do the following:
1) act as a national contact point which shares with the entities referred to in Article 28(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014 any information on the financing of, control of, and sanctions for European political parties and European political foundations;
2) act as a contact point providing information and support in relation to the submission of the European Citizens’ Initiative;
3) act as an authority in charge of verifying and certifying the statements of support made by persons entitled to vote in elections to the European Parliament in the Republic of Lithuania and persons implementing the European Citizens’ Initiative in the Republic of Lithuania; also act as an authority in charge of issuing certificates that confirm the number of valid statements of support received in the Republic of Lithuania;
4) be in charge of exchanging voter data and candidates with the contact points of other Member States of the European Union;
5) under the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission and at the request of the applicants, issue statements of support to the organisers of the European Citizens’ Initiative registered by the European Commission;
6) establish the procedure for verifying the statements of support submitted thereto by the organisers of the European Citizens’ Initiative and establish the procedure for issuing a certificate of confirmation of the number of valid statements of support received in the Republic of Lithuania;
Article 33. Rights of the Central Electoral Commission
1. When carrying out the tasks and functions set out in this Code, the Central Electoral Commission shall have the right to do the following:
1) receive, free of charge, data and documents necessary for the performance of its functions from all state registers, national and municipal institutions and agencies, other institutions, companies and organisations, other legal and natural persons, members of political organisations, campaigners, as well as from electoral committees;
2) receive, free of charge, and use personal data necessary for the performance of its functions where such data, including special categories of personal data, are processed in state registers and state information systems;
3) require all national and municipal institutions and agencies, as well as other institutions, companies and organisations, other legal and natural persons, and electoral committees to comply with the requirements of this Code and other legal acts regulating the preparation for and holding of elections and to eliminate violations of this Code and other laws;
4) require the persons specified in this Code and other laws to submit the documents on the financing of election campaigns and of political advertising, provided such documents are specified in this Code and other laws;
5) to receive and process the data necessary for the performance of the functions of the Central Electoral Commission. In the context of preparation for, holding and monitoring of elections, as well as control and audit of the financing of election campaigns, when the processing regards personal data of citizens of the Republic of Lithuania and persons permanently residing in Lithuania, the following personal data shall be processed: name, surname, personal identification number, date of birth, address of the declared place of residence, the date of entry of this address in the Residents’ Register of the Republic of Lithuania, the number of the documented proof of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania; name, surname, personal identification number, date of birth, data on the incapacity of a natural person from the manager of the Register of Legally Incapable Persons and Persons with Limited Legal Capacity; also name, surname, personal identification number, date of birth, and data on the criminal record of a natural person from the Register of Suspects, Accused and Convicts;
6) in the context of monitoring of the financing of election campaigns and of political advertising and investigation into claims regarding any violations of this Code, other laws and secondary legal acts, the Central Electoral Commission shall have the right to assess the data related to the matter under investigation and receive documents, data and information from all state authorities, the Bank of Lithuania, national and municipal enterprises, including those under their control, institutions and organisations, and legal and natural persons, as well as to receive initial and other documents in which the said data or information is recorded, and to obtain either oral or written explanations, information or data from the above persons;
2. The Central Electoral Commission may prohibit persons from entering the premises used by electoral committees provided this is necessary for ensuring the security of the data or documents stored in therein.
Article 34. Establishment of the Central Electoral Commission
1. The Central Electoral Commission shall consist of its chair and members. The Seimas shall set up the Central Electoral Commission:
2) after adopting a decision to terminate the mandate of the Central Electoral Commission under Article 37(1)(9). A new Central Electoral Commission shall be set up not later than within 14 days from the date of entry into force of the decision of the Seimas to terminate the mandate of the Central Electoral Commission.
2. The Central Electoral Commission shall be composed of the following persons:
1) the chair of the Commission appointed by secret ballot by the Seimas on the recommendation of the Speaker of the Seimas;
2) two holders of a university degree in law appointed by the Seimas by secret ballot on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice;
3) two holders of a university degree in law appointed by the Seimas by secret ballot on the recommendation of the Lithuanian Lawyers Association;
4) two holders of a university degree appointed by the Seimas by secret ballot on the recommendation of the President of the Republic;
5) holders of a university degree experienced at working in electoral committees or referendum committees, recommended by political parties or their coalitions, provided the said parties or coalitions had gained seats in the Seimas during the previous election to the Seimas in a multi-member constituency.
3. Each political party or coalition of political parties that had gained seats in the Seimas during the previous election to the Seimas in a multi-member constituency shall have the right to nominate a candidate to the Central Electoral Commission before the Commission is set up.
4. The Seimas may not reject the nominations referred to in Article 34(2)(5) if they meet the requirements set out in Article 26.
5. In any case, the number of persons appointed to the Central Electoral Commission from among the nominations of the Minister of Justice, the President of the Republic, and the Lithuanian Lawyers Association shall not be inferior to the number of members of the Central Electoral Commission nominated by the political parties or their coalitions. Should this not be the case, the number of members of the Central Electoral Commission shall be further increased in equal measure by nominations of the Minister of Justice and the Lithuanian Lawyers Association.
Article 35. Oath by the members of the Central Electoral Commission
1. Before starting off, the person appointed as a Chair or a member of the Central Electoral Commission shall take an oath to the State of Lithuania within 15 days from the date of appointment.
2. The following text shall constitute the oath of a chair/member of the Central Electoral Commission:
‘I, (name, surname), pledge my allegiance to the Republic of Lithuania and undertake to observe its Constitution and laws, perform my duties in the Central Electoral Commission honestly and in good faith and refrain from any actions that infringe the laws and human rights.
So help me God.’
4. The oath shall be administered by either the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker of the Seimas at a Seimas sitting.
5. Having sworn the oath of allegiance, the Chair or member of the Central Electoral Commission shall undersign a personal oath form.
6. The established text of the oath is not subject to any amendments or modifications. Any failure to comply with this provision, any refusal to swear the oath or sign in a personal oath form, and any signature with reservations shall be interpreted as a failure to swear an oath and shall preclude chairing the Central Electoral Commission or acting as its member. Where this is the case, a new Chair or member of the Central Electoral Commission shall be appointed instead.
Article 36. Restrictions applicable to the Chair and members of the Central Electoral Commission
1. The Chair of the Central Electoral Commission shall be precluded from the following:
2) receipt of any remuneration other than remuneration determined for the position held with the Central Electoral Commission and remuneration for creative, pedagogical and scientific activities;
3) membership of any political organisations; the latter must be suspended before taking up the duties, and participation in the activities of the political organisation must be refrained from for the entire length of service at the Central Electoral Commission;
5) standing as a candidate; membership of the Citizens’ Initiative Group of the Republic of Lithuania; serving as an observer in elections or referendums; serving as a representative for elections or referendums; organising of and taking part in the collection of voter signatures in support of a candidate or list of candidates under Article 79; as well as organising of and taking part in the collection of voter signatures of citizens of the Republic of Lithuania in support of calling a referendum.
2. Members of the Central Electoral Commission appointed on the nomination of the Minister of Justice, the President of the Republic, and the Lithuanian Lawyers Association must suspend their membership of any political organisations before taking up their duties and may not participate in the activities of the political organisations for the entire length of their service at the Central Electoral Commission.
3. A member of the Central Electoral Commission shall be excluded from candidacy, chairmanship and membership of another electoral committee, a referendum committee, and a citizens’ initiative group of the Republic of Lithuania, and from acting as an observer in elections or referendums or a representative for elections or a referendum; likewise, they may neither organise nor participate in the collection of voter signatures in support of a candidate or a list of candidates under Article 79, and may neither organise nor participate in the collection of voter signatures of citizens of the Republic of Lithuania in support of calling a referendum.
4. A Chair or member of the Central Electoral Commission who intends to stand as a candidate in elections or to serve as a chair or member of another electoral committee or a referendum committee, a member of a citizens’ initiative group of the Republic of Lithuania, an observer in elections or a referendum, or a representative for elections or a referendum, shall submit to the Seimas a written declaration of resignation from the position of Chair or member of the Central Electoral Commission not later than 30 days in advance, before giving the necessary consent to stand as a candidate, to perform the duties referred to in this paragraph, or to collect the signatures. The Chair or member of the Central Electoral Commission who fails to comply with this requirement shall, by decision of the Seimas, be dismissed from office and shall have the candidate’s registration rejected or cancelled.
Article 37. Termination of the mandate of the Chair, Deputy Chair and member of the Central Electoral Commission
1. The mandate of the Chair, Deputy Chair and/or a member of the Central Electoral Commission shall be terminated on the following grounds:
1) expiry of the term of office of the Commission in its old composition and setting up and swearing in of the Central Electoral Commission in its new composition;
6) the court has declared him incapacitated in the area related to the implementation of electoral law;
9) adoption of a Seimas resolution to terminate the powers of the Central Electoral Commission following the conclusion of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania that a decision of the Central Electoral Commission adopted after the voting has ended or other acts carried out by the Central Electoral Commission after the voting has ended infringe the provisions of this Code;
10) adoption of a Seimas decision on dismissal of a member of the Central Electoral Commission on the basis of a reasoned appeal from the political party or coalition of political parties that had nominated the member to the Central Electoral Commission;
2. In addition to the grounds set out in Article 37(1), the powers of the chair or Deputy Chair of the Central Electoral Commission who works exclusively in the Central Electoral Commission shall also be terminated if the chair or the deputy chair fails, within 14 days of the appointment, to renounce the work, office or status incompatible with the position of a Chair or Deputy Chair of the Central Electoral Commission.
Article 38. Chair of the Central Electoral Commission
1. The Chair of the Central Electoral Commission shall be the head of the budgetary authority. The Chair of the Central Electoral Commission shall perform the following tasks:
3) represent the Central Electoral Commission in national and municipal institutions, authorities, courts, foreign institutions and bodies, and international organisations;
5) with the consent of the members of the Central Electoral Commission, second them to official missions and grant annual leave to the vice-chairs of the Central Electoral Commission employed exclusively with the Central Electoral Commission;
6) submit to the Central Electoral Commission for approval an estimate of the Commission’s expenditure and estimates of the election expenses;
7) head the work of the Secretariat, approve its structure, lists of positions, and job descriptions, as well as employ and dismiss the staff of the Secretariat under the procedure set out by law;
8) where necessary, additionally recruit persons under employment contracts for the performance of specific functions or other auxiliary tasks, where their coverage is provided for in the estimates of expenditure approved by the Central Electoral Commission;
10) submit to the Seimas the report on the activities of the Central Electoral Commission after each ordinary election, but no later than 120 days after the date of publication of the final election results;
11) publish the agenda and date of the Commission meetings on the website of the Central Electoral Commission;
12) together with the chairs of the polling district and municipal electoral committee, sign a contract for the use of state budget funds;
2. The Chair of the Central Electoral Commission shall issue orders or, in the cases set out in this Code, issue decisions, or authorise a member of the Central Electoral Commission to take decisions on matters regarding the work of the Secretariat and regarding the management of its staff. Such decisions shall be published under the procedure set out by the Central Electoral Commission and appealed against under the procedure set out in this Code.
3. The Chair of the Central Electoral Commission shall enjoy all the rights of a member of the Central Electoral Commission.
Article 39. Deputy Chairs of the Central Electoral Commission
1. The Chair of the Central Electoral Commission shall have two deputies. They shall be appointed by the Central Electoral Commission on the nomination of the Chair of the Central Electoral Commission and shall be dismissed from office by the Central Electoral Commission. The Deputy Chairs shall be appointed from among the members of the Central Electoral Commission nominated by the President of the Republic, the Minister of Justice, and the Lithuanian Lawyers Association.
2. On the recommendation of the chair, the Central Electoral Commission may decide that the Deputy Chairs of the Central Electoral Commission be employed exclusively with the Commission. The Deputy Chairs of the Central Electoral Commission employed exclusively with the Commission shall be subject to the same restrictions as those set out for the Chair of the Central Electoral Commission in Article 36(1).
3. Where the Chair of the Central Electoral Commission is not appointed or is temporarily unable to hold office due to being on official mission, leave, sick leave, being dismissed, or for other reasons, the Deputy Chair of the Central Electoral Commission (if the chair is not appointed) or one of the Deputy Chairs of the Central Electoral Commission appointed by the chair shall temporarily act as the Chair of the Central Electoral Commission.
4. Where neither the Chair nor the Deputy Chairs of the Central Electoral Commission have been appointed, or where none of the deputies is able to temporarily hold office of Chair of the Central Electoral Commission due to an official mission, leave, sick leave, dismissal or other reasons, a member of the Central Electoral Commission appointed by the Commission from among the members nominated by the Minister of Justice and the Lithuanian Lawyers Association shall temporarily act as the Chair of the Central Electoral Commission.
5. The Deputy Chair of the Central Electoral Commission or another member of the Central Electoral Commission temporarily acting as the Chair of the Central Electoral Commission shall be paid the salary established for the position of the Chair of the Central Electoral Commission.
6. One of the Deputy Chairs of the Central Electoral Commission shall perform duties of the Secretary of the Central Electoral Commission. The Secretary shall be appointed by the Central Electoral Commission on the nomination of the chair of the Commission. The Secretary of the Central Electoral Commission shall sign the minutes of the Commission meetings, manage the Commission documents and perform other duties assigned thereto by the Central Electoral Commission or its chair.
7. Where the Secretary of the Central Electoral Commission is temporarily unable to perform the associated duties or is temporarily acting as the Chair of the Central Electoral Commission, a member of the Central Electoral Commission appointed by the Commission shall temporarily deputise for the Secretary.
Article 40. Rights of a member of the Central Electoral Commission
1. A member of the Central Electoral Commission shall be entitled to engage in the following activities:
1) participate in the meetings of the Central Electoral Commission, voice his or her opinion, participate in the discussions, vote, and prepare draft decisions and other draft documents of the Central Electoral Commission;
2) participate in all events organised by the Central Electoral Commission and voice his or her opinion;
3) together with other members of the Central Electoral Commission, request convening a meeting of the Central Electoral Commission;
4) participate in meetings, working groups, conferences and consultations of the committees of the Seimas, of the Government, and of other state and municipal institutions and electoral committees when draft amendments to this Code, issues of organisation and holding of elections, and other issues falling within the remit of the Central Electoral Commission are considered, and submit proposals, under the established procedure, for the resolution of these matters;
5) monitor compliance with the requirements of this Code, other laws and legal acts governing the organisation and holding of elections and financing of political organisations and election campaigns;
7) in the cases set out in this Code, make the steps authorised by the Chair of the Central Electoral Commission;
2. The heads of national and municipal institutions and agencies, non-governmental institutions, enterprises and organisations where members of the Central Electoral Commission are employed must enable the members of the Central Electoral Commission to participate in the meetings of the Central Electoral Commission.
Article 41. Remuneration, social guarantees and guarantees in the event of dismissal of the Chair, Deputy Chairs and members of the Central Electoral Commission
1. The remuneration to the Chair, Deputy Chairs and members of the Central Electoral Commission shall be paid under the procedure set out by law.
2. The Chair, Deputy Chairs and members of the Central Electoral Commission shall be insured with state social insurance under the procedure set out by law.
3. The duration of annual leave of the Chair and Deputy Chairs of the Central Electoral Commission as well as the procedure and the conditions for granting and payment thereof shall be set out by law. Social guarantees shall be provided under the procedure set out in the Labour Code of the Republic of Lithuania and other legal acts.
4. At the end of each year, the Chair, Deputy Chairs and members of the Central Electoral Commission shall be paid a lump sum bonus for overtime work and work on rest days and public holidays. The lump sum bonus shall not exceed the amount of their statutory salary and shall be paid within the limits of the expenditure for the payment of salaries allocated to the Central Electoral Commission. Where these funds are insufficient, and where the Chair, Deputy Chair or member of the Central Electoral Commission has worked for an incomplete year, the lump sum bonus shall be calculated in proportion to the available salary funds or the total time worked during that year. The size of the lump sum bonus shall be determined by the Central Electoral Commission.
5. A severance allowance equal to two months’ statutory salary shall be paid to the Chair, Deputy Chair or member of the Central Electoral Commission upon dismissal on the grounds set out in Article 37(1), points (1) and (6).
Article 42. Meetings of the Central Electoral Commission
1. The Central Electoral Commission shall collegially discuss and decide on matters falling within its remit at its meetings. The meetings of the Central Electoral Commission may be organised in the following ways: physically in the meeting room of the Commission; remotely; and in a hybrid mode, with part of the members being physically present at the meeting and the rest of them participating remotely.
2. The meetings of the Central Electoral Commission shall be streamed live on its internet website under the procedure set out by the Central Electoral Commission.
Article 43. Organisation of remote and hybrid meetings of the Central Electoral Commission
1. Under the procedure set out by the Central Electoral Commission, the meetings of the Central Electoral Commission may also be held remotely or in a hybrid mode.
2. As regards remote or hybrid meetings of the Central Electoral Commission, they are organised, members of the Commission participate and decisions on the matters under discussion are taken remotely or in a hybrid mode in real time on teleconferencing platforms assessed and recognised as safe by the National Cyber Security Centre under the Ministry of National Defence.
3. Members of the Central Electoral Commission must exercise their rights and obligations in person.
4. Where a meeting of the Central Electoral Commission is held remotely or in hybrid mode, a video and audio recording of the meeting must be made. The recording shall be published on the website of the Central Electoral Commission and stored under the procedure set out by the Central Electoral Commission.
5. The procedure set out by the Central Electoral Commission shall apply to the organisation of remote and hybrid meetings of the Central Electoral Commission, the participation of members, the identity of the members of the Commission, the determination of the voting results, the adoption of decisions on the matters under consideration, and the implementation of the rights and duties of a member of the Commission in person.
6. Other provisions of this Code regarding the procedures applicable to the meetings of the Central Electoral Commission in a meeting room, whether remote or hybrid, shall be understood and applied mutatis mutandis, taking into account the specificities of holding remote or hybrid meetings of the Central Electoral Commission.
Article 44. Decisions of the Central Electoral Commission and procedure for their adoption
1. The Central Electoral Commission shall take decisions in the exercise of its powers. The decisions shall be signed by the Chair of the Central Electoral Commission.
2. A member of the Central Electoral Commission nominated by a political party or a coalition of political parties shall not participate in the preparation, discussion and adoption of decisions by the Central Electoral Commission on the refusal to register a candidate belonging to that party or coalition, the cancellation of the registration of such a candidate, as well as decisions concerning a gross violation of laws that may affect the allocation of state budget appropriations to the party.
3. For the purpose of making decisions on the registration of candidates and on the determination of the final results of the elections, members of the Central Electoral Commission shall vote either in favour or against the draft decision submitted; abstention is prohibited.
4. The decisions of the Central Electoral Commission shall be published under the procedure set out in the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Legislative Framework. The decisions of the Central Electoral Commission on registration/cancellation of the registration of candidates or lists of candidates; decisions on the determination of the final ranking of candidates on the lists of candidates; decisions on the determination of the final election results; decision declaring the election results invalid; decisions declaring the elections failed; decisions announcing re-run elections; decisions on the loss of mandate; decisions on the termination of the mandate before the expiry of the term of office; and decisions on recognition of the mandate for filling a vacant seat shall be officially published in the Register of Legal Acts.
5. Decisions of the Central Electoral Commission shall be binding on electoral committees, national and municipal institutions and agencies of all levels, as well as on other institutions, companies, organisations and campaigners. The right to amend or revoke these decisions shall be reserved to the Central Electoral Commission and the Court. The decisions of the Central Electoral Commission obliging campaigners and political organisations to transfer funds to the state budget under this Code and other laws shall be considered as executive documents under the Code of Civil Procedure of the Republic of Lithuania.
Article 45. Submission of information and documents to the Central Electoral Commission
1. National and municipal institutions and agencies, other institutions, enterprises, organisations, electoral committees, referendum committees, political organisations, campaigners, and other persons shall, at the request of the Central Electoral Commission, submit, within the time limit set by the Commission, the available information and documents necessary for the examination by the Central Electoral Commission of claims by individuals and for investigation into violations regarding the financing of elections and electoral political campaigns, violations of political advertising requirements, cases of bribing of voters, and other violations related to elections.
Article 46. Setting up of constituency and municipal electoral committees
1. Constituency and municipal electoral committees shall be set up by the Central Electoral Commission at least 95 days before the polling day in the following ways:
1) for the purposes of elections to the Seimas, constituency electoral committees shall be set up in single-member constituencies;
2. The constituency electoral committees set up for the purposes of elections to the Seimas shall consist of the following persons:
1) a holder of a higher education degree in law nominated by the Minister of Justice. Priority shall be given to persons residing or working on the territory of the municipality allocated, in whole or in part, to the constituency in question;
2) a holder of a higher education degree in law nominated by the Lithuanian Lawyers Association. Priority shall be given to persons residing or working on the territory of the municipality allocated, in whole or in part, to the constituency in question;
3) a career civil servant nominated by the director of the municipal administration and employed in the municipal administration of the municipality attributed, in whole or in part, to the constituency in question;
4) persons nominated by political parties or coalitions of political parties that had gained seats in the Seimas during the previous election to the Seimas in a multi-member constituency; and persons nominated by political parties to whom appropriations of the state budget are allocated for the purpose of financing political party activities (hereinafter: a ‘financed party’).
3. Municipal electoral committees set up for the purposes of presidential elections and elections to the European Parliament shall consist of the following persons:
1) a holder of a higher education degree in law nominated by the Minister of Justice. Priority shall be given to persons residing or working on the territory of the municipality in question;
2) a holder of a higher education degree in law nominated by the Lithuanian Lawyers Association. Priority shall be given to persons residing or working on the territory of the municipality in question;
3) a career civil servant nominated by the director of the municipal administration and employed in that municipal administration;
4. Municipal electoral committees set up for the purposes of local elections and mayoral elections shall consist of the following persons:
1) a holder of a higher education degree in law nominated by the Minister of Justice. Priority shall be given to persons residing or working on the territory of the municipality in question;
2) a holder of a higher education degree in law nominated by the Lithuanian Lawyers Association. Priority shall be given to persons residing or working on the territory of the municipality in question;
3) a career civil servant nominated by the director of the municipal administration and employed in that municipal administration;
4) persons nominated by financed parties and persons nominated by political parties and coalitions of political parties whose candidates had gained seats in the Seimas in the previous election to the Seimas in a multi-member constituency;
5. A political committee or a coalition of political committees may nominate candidates to municipal electoral committees for the purposes of local and mayoral elections, provided these parties/coalitions had gained at least two seats in the municipal council in the previous municipal and mayoral elections. Political parties and coalitions of political parties may nominate candidates to electoral committees set up for the purposes of elections to the European Parliament, provided the said parties or coalitions had gained at least one seat in the previous election to the European Parliament.
6. The Minister of Justice, the Lithuanian Lawyers Association and the director of the municipal administration may nominate more than one person to the constituency and municipal electoral committees.
7. Each political party that gained seats in the Seimas during the previous election to the Seimas in a multi-member constituency and each financed party shall have the right to nominate one candidate per constituency electoral committee and one candidate per municipal electoral committee. If a political party is eligible for nomination of candidates both as a financed party/political party that gained seats in the Seimas, and as a political party that gained seats in a municipal council, the party shall choose only one of these two options for nomination of its candidates. If a political party that was in coalition with other political parties fails or refuses to nominate its candidates, or chooses to nominate candidates based on the results of elections other than the coalition results, the remaining political parties that were in the coalition shall be entitled to nominate their candidate without the participation of that political party.
8. Nominations for work at constituency and municipal electoral committees shall be submitted to the Central Electoral Commission at least 102 days before the polling day. The Central Electoral Commission may not reject nominations that meet the requirements of this Code. In the absence of nominations, the Central Electoral Commission may additionally appoint to electoral committees the persons nominated by the Minister of Justice, the Lithuanian Lawyers Association or the director of the municipal administration.
9. In any case, every electoral committee shall have at least three members appointed from among the nominations of the Minister of Justice, the Lithuanian Lawyers Association and the director of the municipal administration. Where the number of these particular members is under three, the electoral committee shall be increased in size by appointing persons nominated by the Minister of Justice, the Lithuanian Lawyers Association or the director of the municipal administration. In any event, an electoral committee may not be composed of persons belonging to a single party.
10. If elections take place on the same day as other elections and a referendum, the same electoral committees shall be set up to meet all of these purposes. The Central Electoral Commission shall set up a single constituency/municipal electoral committee in each electoral territory and shall set out its functions to be carried out in the run-up to and during the parallel elections and the referendum.
11. Upon failure to meet the requirements of this Code or expiry of a mandate of a member of the electoral committee nominated by a political party, a political committee, a coalition, or a director of the municipal administration, the Central Electoral Commission shall first address the nominator for a new nomination.
12. The Central Electoral Commission shall appoint the chair of the constituency electoral committee and municipal electoral committee from among the members of that committee. The appointment to the position of the chair of a constituency/municipal electoral committee shall be limited to persons experienced in chairmanship or membership of the Central Electoral Commission, constituency electoral committee, or municipal electoral committee and persons experienced in chairmanship of a polling district electoral committee. The Central Electoral Commission shall appoint the chairs of constituency and municipal electoral committees in proportion to each entity that has nominated its candidates and in proportion to the total number of candidates proposed by each entity.
13. Each constituency electoral committee and municipal electoral committee shall elect its deputy chair and secretary at its first meeting.
Article 47. Powers of the constituency electoral committees and municipal electoral committees
1. Constituency and municipal electoral committees shall have the following powers:
1) under the procedure set out by the Central Electoral Commission, inform voters of the boundaries of the polling districts, of the headquarters of the electoral committees, as well as of the opening hours and the premises of the polling stations;
4) approve the budget for polling district electoral committees within the limits of the estimated budget of the constituency/municipal electoral committee approved by the Central Electoral Commission and monitor the use of the allocated funds;
6) accept the application documents of the candidates standing for elections to the Seimas and mayoral elections, as well as nominees for local and mayoral elections; examine the application documents; submit candidates and lists of candidates for registration to the Central Electoral Commission; and issue certificates to candidates registered for local and mayoral elections;
7) for the purposes of elections to the Seimas, local elections, and mayoral elections, check the nominating petitions of voters who have supported a candidate and/or list of candidates or who have nominated a candidate (or assign this task to the polling district electoral committees), and determine whether the required number of signatures has been collected for raising a nomination or supporting a candidate and/or a list of candidates;
8) draw up a list of healthcare institutions (except out-patient institutions), social care institutions, military units, arrest houses of territorial police units, places of pre-trial detention and arrest, prisons on the territory under their charge; arrange for voting at declared polling places in the said centres, units and institutions; organise and supervise the voting before the polling day in the municipal administration and/or other voting facilities;
9) draw up a vote counting record covering the territory under their charge (hereinafter: ‘the constituency/municipal electoral committee vote counting record), determine the voting results and transmit them for approval to the Central Electoral Commission;
10) conduct investigations into bribing of voters, political advertising, and other violations of this Code; look into claims concerning the decisions, actions and omissions of polling district electoral committees; and annul or amend the decisions of polling district electoral committees that fail to comply with the requirements of laws or other legal acts;
11) within the period from the date of establishment of the committee until the date of publication of the final election results, monitor political advertising and submit monitoring data to the Central Electoral Commission under the procedure set out by the said Commission;
2. The term of office of a member of a constituency/municipal electoral committee shall expire under the following circumstances:
3) upon adoption by the Central Electoral Commission of a decision on the violation of the written pledge of a member of the committee;
Article 48. Setting up of polling district electoral committees
1. Polling district electoral committees shall be set up for organising and holding voting on the territories of the polling districts.
2. Polling district electoral committees shall be set up no later than 45 days before the polling day.
3. No later than 65 days before the polling day, the municipal electoral committee shall determine the number of members in each polling district electoral committee; the figure must be a multiple of the number of political organisations (their coalitions) entitled to nominate candidates to electoral committees. The polling district electoral committee must consist of at least five members.
4. Political parties, political committees and coalitions shall submit to the respective municipal/constituency electoral committee the list of candidates for membership of the polling district electoral committees no later than 52 days before the polling day.
5. The following entities shall be entitled to nominate candidates to the polling district electoral committee in equal shares:
1) a political party/coalition that gained seats in the Seimas during the previous election to the Seimas in a multi-member constituency, and a financed party;
2) a political party/a coalition that had gained at least two seats in the municipal council during the previous local election. If a party had gained seats in the municipal council while in a coalition, it may nominate candidates together with the parties that had formed part of the coalition;
3) a political party/coalition that had gained at least one seat in the previous election to the European Parliament;
4) for local and mayoral elections – political committees/coalitions of political committees that had gained at least two seats in the municipal council during the previous local election;
6. If a political party may nominate candidates based on the results of elections to the Seimas, local elections, and elections to the European Parliament, it shall chose only one of the three options.
7. If a political party that had formed a coalition does not nominate any candidates or chooses to raise nominations based on other than the coalition results, other parties that had formed the coalition shall have the right to nominate candidates without the participation of the former party.
8. If the candidates nominated by a political party/political committee/coalition comply with the requirements of this Code, the constituency/municipal electoral committee must appoint them as members of the polling district electoral committees.
9. If a political party/committee/coalition raises no nominations or if the nominations fail to meet the requirements of this Code, miss the deadline, or leave a seat in the committee unfilled, the constituency electoral committee or municipal electoral committee shall, under the procedure set out by the Central Electoral Commission, appoint the missing members of the polling district electoral committee from the Reserve List specified in this Code. If there are no persons on the Reserve List who may be appointed as members of a polling district electoral committee, the director of the municipal administration must nominate the missing members. The constituency electoral committee/municipal electoral committee may reduce the number of members of a polling district electoral committee provided the polling district electoral committee will have at least five members as a result. In all cases, a polling district electoral committee may not be composed of persons belonging to a single party.
10. The constituency electoral committee/municipal electoral committee shall appoint the chair of the polling district electoral committee from among the members of that electoral committee. Chairmanship of polling district electoral committees shall be reserved to holders of experience of either chairmanship or membership of the Central Electoral Commission, constituency electoral committee, municipal electoral committee, or polling district electoral committee, as well as to holders of a degree in higher education.
Article 49. Deadlines for setting up constituency electoral committees, municipal electoral committees and polling district electoral committees in preparation for early elections
1. Where early elections to the Seimas under Article 58 of the Constitution are held within three months from the date of their announcement or early elections of the President of the Republic are held under Article 87 or Article 89(1) of the Constitution two months after the date of their announcement, the constituency electoral committees and municipal electoral committees shall determine the number of members of the electoral committee for each polling district no later than 45 days before the date of early elections. Constituency electoral committees and municipal electoral committees shall be set up no later than 60 days before the date of early elections.
2. Nominations for membership in polling district electoral committees must be submitted to constituency electoral committees and municipal electoral committees no later than 42 days before the date of early elections.
3. Constituency electoral committees shall be set up no later than 40 days before the date of early elections.
4. If early presidential elections under Article 87 or Article 89(1) of the Constitution are held earlier than two months after the date of their announcement, the time limits of 40, 42, 45 and 60 days referred to in this Article shall be reduced the number of days by which the two-month time limit is shortened.
Article 50. Powers of the polling district electoral committee
1. Polling district electoral committees shall have the following powers:
1) upon receipt of electoral rolls from constituency electoral committees/municipal electoral committees, provide voters and representatives for elections with access to the electoral rolls; distribute poll cards to voters; draw up home voting electoral rolls; inform the polling district electoral committee and municipal electoral committee about the inaccuracies observed in the electoral roll and about persons who have not declared whether they comply with the requirements set out in this Code; and electronically transmit the said data under the procedure set out by the Central Electoral Commission;
3) under the procedure set out by the Central Electoral Commission, organise voting at declared polling stations in all healthcare institutions (other than outpatient institutions), social care institutions, military units, arrest houses of territorial police units, places of pre-trial detention and arrest, and prisons located on the territory of the polling district; and organise voting at home;
4) ensure that the director of the municipal administration provides the facilities for voting and that the facilities are prepared and provided with the necessary equipment under the requirements of this Code;
5) organise voting at the polling station on polling day and on the day of rerun and run-off voting;
6) count the votes, draw up a vote count record of the polling district and electronically submit the data of the report;
7) examine complaints from voters and observers in the polling district regarding the organisation of voting, the counting of votes, and the drawing up of the vote count record;
2. The term of office of a member of a polling district electoral committee shall expire under the following conditions:
3) upon adoption by the constituency/municipal electoral committee of a decision on the violation of the written pledge by a member of the committee;
Article 51. Remuneration to members of constituency electoral committees, municipal electoral committees and polling district electoral committees
1. Remuneration per working day at an electoral committee shall be set at the following rates:
1) for chairs of polling district electoral committees and municipal electoral committees, the rate shall be set at 0.067 of the base amount of the official salary (remuneration) set out in the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on establishing the base amount of the basic salary (remuneration) and recalculation of appropriations for salaries (hereinafter: ‘base amount of the basic salary’);
2) for deputy chairs, secretaries and members of constituency electoral committees and municipal electoral committees, the rate shall be set at 0.054 of the base amount of the basic salary;
3) for chairs of polling district electoral committees, the rate shall be set at 0.054 of the base amount of the basic salary;
2. Remuneration to members, chairs, deputy chairs and secretaries of electoral committees shall be paid on the basis of timesheets and shall be kept within the limits of the remuneration appropriations set for each electoral committee. The procedure for filling the timesheets in electoral committees shall be established by the Central Electoral Commission. The chair of each electoral committee shall be responsible for the correctness of the data contained in the timesheets of the relevant committee. The working time restrictions set out in the Labour Code shall not apply to the work of electoral committees.
3. Members, chairs, deputy chairs and secretaries of electoral committees may be incentivised by a lump sum allowance paid for excellence at work at an electoral committee. The lump sum allowance may not exceed 100 % of the mean of the monthly salaries received throughout the period of work at the electoral committee and may not exceed the limits of the resources provided for incentives in the estimate of the expenditure of the committee in question. The amount of the lump sum shall be determined by taking into account the scale, quality and complexity of the work carried out.
4. The Central Electoral Commission shall make decisions on incentives to chairs of constituency and municipal electoral committees in view of their contribution to organising and holding elections and in view of the need for accountability for the use of the funds allocated to the committees in question. Deputy chairs, members and secretaries of constituency electoral committees and municipal electoral committees may be incentivised by a lump sum allowance by the decision of the Central Electoral Commission, provided there is a nomination for the allowance received from the chair of a polling district electoral committee/municipal electoral committee in question.
5. Constituency electoral committees and municipal electoral committees shall make decisions on incentives to chair of polling district electoral committees in view of their contribution to organising and holding elections. Deputy chairs, members and secretaries of polling district electoral committees may be incentivised by a lump sum allowance paid by the decision of the constituency electoral committee or municipal electoral committee in question, provided that there is a nomination from the chair of the polling district electoral committee in question.
Article 52. Voting commissions in diplomatic missions of the Republic of Lithuania, in consular posts, additional polling places abroad and ships flying the national flag of Lithuania
1. Voting commissions shall be set up for the purposes of organising the vote and counting the votes cast in diplomatic missions of the Republic of Lithuania, consular posts, additional polling places abroad and aboard the ships flying the national flag of Lithuania. The voting commissions in question shall be composed of a chair and at least two members.
2. Chairmanship and membership of the voting commissions shall be reserved to citizens of the Republic of Lithuania of good repute provided they are aged at least 18 on the day of setting up the voting commission. The requirement of good repute for voting commission members shall be understood within the meaning of good repute as set out for members of electoral committees.
3. Voting commissions in diplomatic missions or consular posts of the Republic of Lithuania and at additional polling places abroad shall be set up by the heads of the voting commissions. The voting commissions shall consist of members of staff of the diplomatic mission or consular post of the Republic of Lithuania of the country in question, members of staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania nominated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs or a person authorised thereby, and other citizens of the Republic of Lithuania who reside in the foreign state in question.
4. Voting commissions aboard the ships flying the national flag of Lithuania shall be set up by masters of ships who are the citizens of the Republic of Lithuania. The setting-up of the voting commissions aboard the said ships shall be in line with the decision of the meeting of the ship’s crew composed of citizens of the Republic of Lithuania.
Article 53. Electoral rolls and drawing them up
1. A list of persons eligible to vote (hereinafter: ‘electoral roll’) shall be drawn up on the basis of the data from the Population Register. The electoral roll shall list all persons eligible to vote in at least one of the elections specified in this Code and persons eligible to vote after they will have reached the age of 18 at least half a year before polling day.
2. The Central Electoral Commission shall be in charge of drawing up and constantly updating the electoral rolls in the information system of the Central Electoral Commission.
Article 54. Processing of personal data available on electoral rolls
1. The following personal data from the electoral rolls shall be subject to data processing:
4) citizenship/loss of citizenship, name and number of the documented proof of citizenship/ loss of citizenship;
5) data on declared place of residence: date of the declaration of the place of residence; date of departure from the Republic of Lithuania; date of entry into the records of persons with an undeclared place of residence; address of the place of residence indicated on the electoral roll of the polling station;
2. An electoral roll may also include the following data:
1) elections in which the person concerned is eligible or shall be eligible to vote upon reaching a specified age;
7) location and constituency where the person was last entered on the electoral roll, for data on entry on the electoral roll of another Member State of the European Union;
8) confirmation that a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania shall exercise or has exercised the right to vote in an election to the European Parliament in another Member State of the European Union; grounds to believe that a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania will exercise the right to vote in an election to the European Parliament in another Member State of the European Union or has exercised the right already in another Member State, where such grounds are based on a received notice of entry of a citizen on the electoral roll or on the list of candidates of another Member State of the European Union, notification on permanent place of residence in another Member State of the European Union, or any other data; refusal or failure by an individual to confirm the intent of exercising the right to vote in the election to the European Parliament exclusively in the Republic of Lithuania; information that a person has lost the right to vote in the Member State of the European Union of which that person is a national; the fact of loss of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania and absence of citizenship of another Member State of the European Union, accompanied by the date of loss of citizenship; the fact that a person permanently residing in the Republic of Lithuania has lost the citizenship of a Member State of the European Union, accompanied by the date of loss of the citizenship; the fact that a citizen of a Member State of the European Union permanently residing in the Republic of Lithuania refuses to declare or has failed to declare the intent of exercising the right to vote in the election to the European Parliament exclusively in the Republic of Lithuania; and the fact of a failure or refusal, on the part of a national of a Member State of the European Union permanently residing in the Republic of Lithuania, to declare that his or her right to vote has not been restricted in the Member State of the European Union of which the he or she is a national;
9) data on voting at home as well as on voting in declared polling places, diplomatic missions of the Republic of Lithuania, consular posts, additional polling places abroad at the diplomatic mission or consular post of the Republic of Lithuania, aboard the ships flying the flag of Lithuania, and other polling places.
Article 55. Electoral rolls
1. The following electoral rolls shall be drawn up for the purpose of preparation for and holding of elections:
2. There shall be two types of electoral rolls, including preliminary and final electoral rolls. The use of electoral rolls shall be reserved to the preparation for and holding of elections.
3. The electoral roll of the Republic of Lithuania shall be drawn up based on the data from the list of persons eligible to vote and shall be complemented with data on persons eligible to vote in the respective elections.
4. Allocation of voters on the electoral roll of the Republic of Lithuania to single-member constituency, municipality, or polling district shall be based on the address of the declared place of residence, provided the declared place of residence is in the Republic of Lithuania.
5. Preliminary constituency electoral rolls shall be drawn up in the territory under the charge of constituency and municipal electoral committees. No later than 39 days before the election, the Central Electoral Commission shall electronically transmit the preliminary electoral rolls of each constituency complemented with the electoral rolls of the respective polling districts to the constituency electoral committees and municipal electoral committees.
6. No later than seven days before the polling day, the preliminary electoral rolls with the alterations made and approved under the procedure set out by the Central Electoral Commission shall be confirmed as final electoral rolls. Alterations to the final electoral rolls may only be made subject to consent from the Central Electoral Commission. The Central Electoral Commission shall set out the time limits and the procedure for post-electoral storage and use of the electronic electoral roll of the Republic of Lithuania.
Article 56. Processing of electoral rolls
1. Throughout the election period, the Central Electoral Commission shall draw up and process the electoral rolls. The electoral rolls data referred to in Article 54 may be subject to data processing.
2. Constituency electoral committees and municipal electoral committees may, by means of electronic communications, process the electoral rolls of the respective constituencies as well as the electoral rolls of the polling districts that make up that constituency.
3. The polling district electoral committee may process the electoral roll of the respective polling district by means of electronic communications. The polling district electoral roll can be printed out and used for provision of voter access, dissemination of poll cards, preparation for and holding of voting prior to and during the polling day, as well as for re-run or run-off voting.
Article 57. Entry on the electoral roll of persons who have not declared their place of residence in the Republic of Lithuania or have no valid document confirming their citizenship
1. In order to participate in a relevant election, persons who are eligible to vote but have not declared their place of residence in the Republic of Lithuania or who, for more than one year before the date of the elections, have not held any valid document confirming their citizenship under Article 8(1) and article 8(4), must apply to the electoral committee of their choice for entry on the electoral roll. The procedure for submitting such applications shall be set out by the Central Electoral Commission.
2. For the purposes of presidential elections and elections to the European Parliament, persons eligible to vote who have not declared their place of residence in the Republic of Lithuania may be entered on the electoral roll of any polling station.
3. For the purposes of elections to the Seimas, persons eligible to vote who have not declared their place of residence in the Republic of Lithuania may be entered on the electoral roll of the polling district based on their last declared place of residence in the Republic of Lithuania; alternatively, they may be entered on the electoral roll of any other polling district of the constituency in which the Seimas is located.
Article 58. Entry on the electoral roll of voters abroad and aboard the ships flying the national flag of Lithuania
1. Where one or more electoral rolls of one or more single-member constituencies of the Lithuanians of the world are drawn up for the purposes of elections to the Seimas, citizens of the Republic of Lithuania voting abroad shall be entered on the electoral roll(s) of the single-member constituency(ies) of the Lithuanians of the world.
2. In the run-up to presidential elections and elections to the European Parliament, citizens of the Republic of Lithuania voting abroad shall be entered on the electoral rolls of voters voting abroad.
3. Electoral rolls of voters voting in diplomatic missions or consular posts of the Republic of Lithuania shall be drawn up by means of electronic communications on the basis of data from the list of persons eligible to vote, applications submitted by individuals to the Central Electoral Commission under the procedure set out thereby, and on the basis of electronic notifications received from the diplomatic missions and consular posts of the Republic of Lithuania. Under the procedure set out by the Central Electoral Commission, persons unable to return to Lithuania for voting on the day other than polling day, also persons unable to return to Lithuania for voting on polling day and on the day of re-run or run-off elections may be entered on this electoral roll provided they intend to vote in a diplomatic mission or consular post of the Republic of Lithuania.
4. For the purposes of elections to the European Parliament, persons entered on the electoral rolls referred to in Article 58(3) shall be required to confirm their intent of voting, during those particular elections, exclusively for the candidates standing for elections to the European Parliament in the Republic of Lithuania. This approval shall not be required from persons eligible to vote who intend to vote in a non-Member State of the European Union.
5. As regards crew members and passengers aboard the ships flying the national flag of Lithuania who are eligible to vote yet unable to return to Lithuania for voting on polling day, unable to return for voting on a day other than polling day, as well as for re-run or run-off voting, they shall be entered, under the procedure established by the Central Electoral Commission, on the electoral roll of the polling district on whose territory the administration of the ship’s registration harbour is located.
6. Electoral rolls drawn up for the purposes of local elections and mayoral elections shall be exempt from the provisions of this Article.
7. For the purposes of elections to the Seimas, not less than 15 days before polling day, the diplomatic mission or consular post of the Republic of Lithuania shall transmit to the Central Electoral Commission the electoral roll drawn up in the diplomatic mission and the data on its update(s). The electoral roll may be supplemented by entering voters who cannot to return to Lithuania during the early voting period and on polling day and therefore chose to vote in a diplomatic mission, a consular post, or an additional polling place abroad at the diplomatic mission or consular post of the Republic of Lithuania.
Article 59. Entry on the electoral roll of persons enrolled in initial mandatory military service, persons who are in military units, arrest houses of territorial police units, places of pre-trial detention and arrest, and prisons
1. Persons eligible to vote who are engaged in active military service, public service or international military operations abroad under employment contracts shall be entered on the electoral rolls of the polling district of their declared place of residence.
2. Persons who are in arrest houses of territorial police units, places of pre-trial detention and arrest and prisons shall be entered on the electoral roll of the polling district of their declared place of residence. Persons with undeclared place of residence shall, at their written application, be entered on the electoral roll of the polling district on whose territory the place of pre-trial detention or arrest, or prison, or arrest house of the territorial police unit is located. Declared place of residence before placement in an arrest house of a territorial police unit, or place of arrest or pre-trial detention, or prison disentitles from entry on the electoral roll of the polling district on whose territory the said facility is located.
Article 60. Public access to electoral rolls
1. Voters shall be entitled to access their data on the electoral roll at their polling district or electronically under the procedure set out by the Central Electoral Commission.
2. Electoral rolls shall not be made public. Making copies of electoral rolls or any other distribution of electoral rolls shall be prohibited.
Article 61. Updating electoral rolls
1. Preliminary electoral rolls shall be updated before the approval of the final electoral rolls by transferring the voter data entered on the preliminary electoral roll of the Republic of Lithuania from the electoral roll of one polling district to the electoral roll of another polling district of either the same or another constituency. Before approval, electoral rolls shall be updated by the Central Electoral Commission, the constituency electoral committee, or the municipal electoral committee. The approved final electoral rolls shall not be subject to any further alteration.
2. Updating of preliminary electoral rolls shall be limited to the following cases:
3. Decisions on the transfer of voter data from the electoral roll of one polling district to the electoral roll of another polling district in cases where both polling districts belong to the same constituency shall be made by either the constituency electoral committee or the municipal electoral committee and shall be communicated to the Central Electoral Commission.
Article 62. Voter’s right to vote in any polling district of the voter’s constituency
On polling day, a voter who has not yet cast a vote may, under the procedure set out by the Central Electoral Commission, vote in a polling district of the voter’s constituency other than his or her own polling district, provided that several conditions are met. Firstly, the voter can do it provided all the polling districts of the given municipality are connected to the electronic electoral roll through means of electronic communication and the polling district electoral committees can confirm that the voter has not yet voted in any of the polling districts. Secondly, the voter can do so provided the electoral committee of the polling district on whose electoral roll the said voter is entered confirms that an entry has been made in the electoral roll of this polling district on the arrival of the said voter to cast vote at a polling district other than his or her own and the voter’s vote, if received through vote by mail, shall not be counted.
Article 63. Drawing up of home voting electoral rolls and electoral rolls of voters voting in social care and healthcare institutions other than outpatient institutions
1. The home voting electoral rolls shall be drawn up on the basis of applications for home voting. Electoral committees in charge of drawing up and updating the home voting electoral rolls shall be entitled to receive data on the disabled from the register in charge of processing data of persons covered by state social insurance and recipients of state social insurance benefits and from data processors in charge of data on establishing the level of disability and capacity for work; data on persons temporarily incapacitated for work shall be received from healthcare facilities and from the register in charge of processing data on persons covered by state social insurance and recipients of state social security benefits; voter data in self-isolation shall be received from an institution authorised by the Government. The electoral committees may not disclose the said personal data to unauthorised persons and shall use them exclusively for the purposes of drawing up and updating the home voting electoral rolls.
2. The heads of social care and healthcare institutions other than outpatient institutions shall draw up electoral rolls of the voters voting in the institutions in their charge and shall submit the electoral rolls to the constituency electoral committees, or municipal electoral committees, as appropriate.
Article 64. Electoral political campaign
1. An electoral political campaign shall include the activities carried out by campaigners, voters and other natural and legal persons during the period set out in this Code, provided the said activities are associated with elections to the Seimas, presidential elections, elections to the European Parliament, local elections, and mayoral elections.
2. An electoral political campaign shall begin on publication of polling day and shall last until 100 days pass after the date of entry into force of the decision by the Central Electoral Commission on the final results of the elections or on declaring the elections invalid. An electoral political campaign shall encompass registration of campaigners, candidates, and lists of candidates as well as campaigning, voting, establishing and announcing the results of the elections and settling electoral disputes complemented by monitoring and control over the campaign financing and political advertising.
Article 65. Campaigners
1. A campaigner shall be an individual or a political organisation that participates in an electoral political campaign and is registered by the Central Electoral Commission under the procedure set out in this Code.
2. Eligibility for being campaigners is open to the following entities:
3. Registration of campaigners shall be run under the following conditions:
4. Application-based registration shall apply to political parties, political committees and self-nominated natural persons eligible to stand as candidates.
5. Registration subject to nomination by a political organisation shall apply to natural persons eligible to stand as candidates who intend to stand as nominated rather than self-nominated candidates under this Code; this form of registration shall also apply to lists of candidates nominated by political organisations in multi-member constituencies of municipal councils.
6. For the purposes of presidential elections, elections to the Seimas, local elections, mayoral elections, and elections to the European Parliament, a political party may be registered as a campaigner subject to registration under the procedure set out by law not later than 180 days before polling day.
7. For the purposes of elections to the European Parliament, local elections, and mayoral elections, a political committee may be registered as a campaigner subject to registration under the procedure set out by law at least 180 days before polling day.
8. Natural persons eligible to stand as candidates may be registered as campaigners either upon their own application or on the nomination of a political party or a political committee. Subject to application, these persons may be registered as campaigners in presidential elections, in a single-member constituency of the Seimas, or in mayoral elections. They may be registered by a political party for the purposes of presidential elections and in a single-member constituency of the Seimas, while for the purposes of mayoral elections, they may be registered by nomination from a political party or a political committee.
9. The status of campaigners shall not be conferred on individual candidates entered on a list of candidates; under the requirements set out in this Code, an independent campaigner, namely, either a list of candidates or a self-nominated organisation, shall run and finance the electoral political campaign of individual candidates entered on a list of candidates.
Article 66. Campaigner status
1. A campaigner shall be granted one of the following statuses:
2. Campaigners registered subject to their own application shall be exclusively granted the status of independent campaigners.
3. Campaigners registered on the basis of a nomination from a political organisation may be granted the status of either independent or representative campaigners.
Article 67. Rights and obligations associated with electoral political campaign financing
1. An independent campaigner (hereinafter: ‘an independent participant’) shall have the following rights and obligations:
2) to finance the electoral political campaign from the sources of financing specified in this Code;
4) to acquire, in its own name, property obligations in respect of the expenses of the electoral political campaign;
2. A representative campaigner (hereinafter: a ‘representative participant’) shall be free from the rights and obligations set out in paragraph (1), points (2) to (6); an independent participant who had nominated the representative participant for registration shall act on behalf of the latter.
3. An electoral political campaign account shall be an account opened by an independent participant of an electoral political campaign at a bank registered in the Republic of Lithuania or in a branch of a bank of another Member State of the European Union or a country of the European Economic Area operating in the Republic of Lithuania, provided the account is used exclusively for keeping and accumulation of the funds allocated for the electoral political campaign and for covering the expenses of the electoral political campaign.
Article 68. Registration of campaigners
1. Political organisations and self-nominated natural persons eligible to stand as candidates may apply to the Central Electoral Commission for registration. The registration shall start on the day of announcement of the electoral political campaign and last until the date on which the submission of the declaration documents begins under this Code; in any case, the registration period shall not last less than 14 days.
2. Prospective participants of an electoral political campaign must submit the following documents to the Central Electoral Commission:
4) proof that a bank account has been opened exclusively for the purposes of the electoral political campaign on behalf of the registered person (political party/candidate/political committee); and a certificate issued not earlier than three working days before and confirming that the account is empty;
3. A political organisation that meets the requirements under this Code for participation in elections shall submit a nomination of another campaigner and indicate the status of the campaigner to be registered under the nomination, as referred to in Article 66(1). Where an independent participant is registered based on the nomination, the political party/political committee shall also submit the documents referred to paragraph (2), points (2) to (5). For registration of represented participants under nomination, documents under paragraph (2), points (3) to (5), shall not be required.
4. Candidates in single-member constituencies and lists of candidates in respect of which no requests from the nominating entities have been submitted for registering them as participants shall be registered as representative participants at the initiative of the Central Electoral Commission. They do not need to submit any registration documents.
5. The decision to register a participant as a campaigner shall be taken by the Chair of the Central Electoral Commission or a member authorised thereby not later than within three working days of receipt of all the documents referred to in this Article.
6. The decision to refuse to register an entity as a campaigner must be motivated and may be appealed under the procedure set out in this Code.
7. The website of the Central Electoral Commission shall publish the following data:
2) title/name, surname, status (independent or representative participant), constituency name, and contact details (phone number, e-mail address) of a campaigner;
8. A campaigner shall acquire all the rights and duties of a campaigner on the date of publication on the website of the Central Electoral Commission of the decision of the Chair of the Central Electoral Commission or member of the Commission authorised thereby regarding the registration of the respective campaigner.
9. Contact details shall be published and publicly available until the end of the political campaign.
10. The right to stand as candidates or to nominate candidates or lists of candidates shall be reserved exclusively to the campaigners who are registered under the procedure set out in this Code.
Article 69. Loss of campaigner status
1. The campaigner status shall be lost on occurrence of at least one of the following grounds:
1) request for status withdrawal received from a campaigner or nominator of the latter under the campaigner’s request, submitted before the expiry of the withdrawal period of the application documents;
2) under the procedure set out in this Code, registration shall no longer be granted after termination of the period of registration;
3) registration shall not be granted where a candidate or a list of candidates fail to submit application documents by the deadline for their submission or where the documents submitted by a candidate or a list of candidates are found to be defective;
5) revocation by the Central Electoral Commission of the campaigner status due to gross violations of this Code;
6) conviction and/or penal sanction imposed on the political organisation by court (during the period of serving the sentence and/or penal sanction);
2. Independent participants having lost their status of independent participants shall not be entitled to accept any donations for the financing of the political campaign and to assume any obligations related to the election campaign from the date of entry into force of the decision on the loss of campaigner status. The loss of the status of an independent participant shall not absolve entities and individuals from the obligation to fulfil the obligations of entities and persons who have lost the campaigner status arising from this Code and other laws.
Article 70. Nomination of candidates to the Seimas
1. Candidates to the Seimas may be nominated by the following entities:
1) in multi-member and single-member constituencies, candidates may be nominated by a political party, provided the party is registered not later than 180 days before polling day under the procedure set out by law, meets the legal requirements on party membership size, and is devoid of the legal status of a political party under liquidation or a political party for which liquidation is initiated;
2) in a single-member constituency, every citizen of the Republic of Lithuania who qualifies to be elected as Member of the Seimas may stand as a candidate to the Seimas, provided the candidacy is supported by signatures of at least 1 000 voters in that constituency. Where a state of emergency is established in all or part of the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, an emergency is declared under the procedure set out by law, a lockdown is declared in the cases and under the procedure set out by law, the freedom of movement of persons is temporarily restricted, or other restrictions are imposed under the procedure set out by law and this prevents the collection of voter signatures, the candidacy must be supported by at least 500 voters exclusively in that constituency or in the part of that constituency in which restrictions that prevent collection of voter signatures apply.
2. In a multi-member constituency, a political party shall nominate candidates to the Seimas by submitting a list of candidates to the Central Electoral Commission. The list must include at least 25 but not more than 141 candidates. The list of candidates must be approved under the procedure set out by the statutes of the political party.
3. If a political party does not nominate a list of candidates in elections, a candidate nominated by the party must be supported in a single-member constituency by the signatures of at least 1 000 voters of that constituency. Where a state of emergency is established in all or part of the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, an emergency is declared under the procedure set out by law, a lockdown is imposed in the cases and under the procedure set out by law, the freedom of movement of persons is temporarily restricted, or other restrictions are imposed under the procedure set out by law and this prevents the collection of voter signatures, the nomination of a candidate must be supported by at least 500 voter signatures exclusively in the constituency or part of the constituency in which restrictions that prevent collection of voter signatures apply. These requirements shall not apply to candidates nominated by political parties in a single-member constituency, if early or repeated elections of a Member of the Seimas are organised there under the procedure set out in this Code and if the political party nominated a list of candidates in the previous ordinary elections to the Seimas; likewise, the said requirements shall not apply to re-elections of the citizens of the Republic of Lithuania registered as candidates in the single-member constituency before the elections failed or were declared invalid.
Article 71. Nomination of presidential candidates
1. Any citizen of the Republic of Lithuania eligible to be elected President of the Republic and supported by at least 20 000 signatures may run as a candidate or be nominated by a political party as a candidate in presidential elections in the Republic of Lithuania.
2. Presidential candidates may be nominated by a political party, provided the party is registered not later than 180 days before polling day under the procedure set out by law, meets the legal requirements on party membership size, and is devoid of the legal status of a political party under liquidation or a political party for which liquidation is initiated.
Article 72. Nomination of candidates for local and mayoral elections
1. A mayoral candidate in a single-member constituency may be self-nominated or nominated by a political party or a political committee, provided the latter is registered under the procedure set out by law not later than 180 days before polling day, meets the statutory requirements regarding the membership size, and is devoid of the legal status of a political party or political committee under liquidation or a political party for which liquidation is initiated.
2. A political party or a political committee that meets the requirements set out in Article 72(1) may nominate candidates to the municipal council in a multi-member constituency by submitting to the electoral committee referred to in Article 78(3) a list of candidates listed in order of precedence established by that party or political committee. The list of candidates must be approved under the procedure set out by the statutes of the political party or the political committee. The total number of candidates on list of candidates may not make up less than half and may not exceed twice the number of councillors to be elected in a particular municipality.
3. At least 20 percent of the electorate in that municipality shall be the required threshold for a candidate and a list of candidates together, or solely for a list of candidates where only a list of candidates is nominated. Where only a candidate is nominated/self-nominated, the required support shall constitute at least 20 percent of the electorate of that municipality per one mandate. In any case, the nomination must gain the support of at least 100 voters of that municipality. The required support level shall be established on the basis of the results of the previous elections. It shall be rounded up to the first two significant digits and announced by the Central Electoral Commission at least 110 days before polling day.
4. The requirement for support by signatures shall not apply to the following entities:
1) a mayoral candidate nominated by a political party, for early and repeated mayoral elections held in that municipality under the procedure set out in this Code, given the mayoral candidate had been nominated by that same party in the previous ordinary mayoral elections; also in re-election of citizens of the Republic of Lithuania registered as candidates in that single-member constituency in either the previous elections or in elections declared invalid;
2) a mayoral candidate nominated by a political party and a list of candidates in local elections, provided the party had nominated a mayoral candidate and a list of candidates in the previous mayoral elections and local elections in that municipality;
3) all political candidates and political organisations, where a state of emergency is established in all or part of the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, an emergency is declared under the statutory procedure, a lockdown is declared in the cases and under the statutory procedure, the freedom of movement of persons is temporarily restricted, or other restrictions are imposed under the statutory procedure, and this prevents the collection of voter signatures; only the constituencies that are, in whole or in part, subject to restrictions preventing collection of voter signatures shall be free from the requirement of support by signatures.
Article 73. Nomination of candidates for elections to the European Parliament
1. For the purposes of elections to the European Parliament, a candidate may be nominated by a political party or a political committee that is registered under the procedure set out by law not later than 180 days before polling day, meets the statutory requirements regarding the membership size, and is devoid of the legal status of a political party or political committee under liquidation or a political party or political committee for which liquidation is initiated. This political party or political committee shall submit to the Central Electoral Commission a list of candidates listed in the order of precedence established by that political party or political committee. The list of candidates must be approved under the procedure set out in the statutes of the political party or the political committee.
2. The total number of candidates shall amount to at least five but shall not exceed twice the number of Members of the European Parliament to be elected in the Republic of Lithuania.
3. At least 10 000 voters must sign the list of candidates. This requirement shall not apply to the following entities:
1) lists of political parties which participated in the last elections to the European Parliament and received more votes than the minimum number of signatures required under this Article for supporting the list;
2) all candidates and political organisations, when a state of emergency is established in all or part of the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, an emergency is declared under the procedure set out by law, a lockdown is imposed in the cases and under the procedure set out by law, the freedom of movement of persons is temporarily restricted, or other restrictions are imposed and this prevents the collection of voter signatures.
Article 74. Preclusion of dual nomination
3. A person entered on the list of candidates in a multi-member constituency shall have the right to concurrently stand as a candidate in one single-member constituency.
Article 75. Application documents
1. The political party/political committee shall submit the following application documents:
4) a document confirming the payment of an election deposit by a political party, a political committee or the candidate, provided the payment was made from an account of a credit institution registered in the Republic of Lithuania or a branch of a credit institution registered in another Member State of the European Union, or registered in a State of the European Economic Area operating in the Republic of Lithuania; and an application for the return of the election deposit under the requirements of this Code to the same account from which it had been paid;
2. The person nominated in a single-member or multi-member constituency shall submit the following application documents:
2) an extract of key data for the previous year from the annual resident’s income declaration submitted to the State Tax Inspectorate under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter: the State Tax Inspectorate);
3) an extract of key data for the previous year from the annual property declaration submitted to the State Tax Inspectorate;
6) a consent to nomination by a political party or a political committee in a particular constituency;
7) a document confirming the payment of the election deposit from an account of a credit institution registered in the Republic of Lithuania or a branch of a credit institution registered in another Member State of the European Union, or registered in a State of the European Economic Area operating in the Republic of Lithuania; and an application for the return of the election deposit under the requirements of this Code to the same account from which it had been paid;
8) a signed pledge to terminate, upon election, the work or other activities incompatible with the duties of the President of the Republic, Member of the Seimas, Member of the European Parliament, or mayor;
9) a photo and a biography of the candidate in the form established by the Central Electoral Commission;
3. The person seeking election to the positions of President, Member of the Seimas, or mayor shall submit the following application documents:
1) a self-nominating petition for candidacy in the elections for President, Member of the Seimas, or mayor in the constituency;
3) an extract of key data for the previous year from the annual resident’s income declaration submitted to the State Tax Inspectorate;
4) an extract of key data for the previous year from the annual property declaration submitted to the State Tax Inspectorate;
7) a signed pledge to terminate, upon election, the work or other activities incompatible with the duties of the President of the Republic, Member of the Seimas, or mayor;
8) a photo and a biography of the candidate in the form established by the Central Electoral Commission;
9) a document confirming the payment of an election deposit by the candidate, provided the payment was made from an account of a credit institution registered in the Republic of Lithuania or a branch of a credit institution registered in another Member State of the European Union, or registered in a State of the European Economic Area operating in the Republic of Lithuania; and an application for the return of the election deposit under the requirements of this Code to the same account from which it had been paid;
10) authorisation for the election representative to represent the candidate in a single-member constituency and in the municipal electoral committee;
Article 76. Candidate’s questionnaire
1. In the candidate’s questionnaire, candidates must provide the following data:
5) number of the document confirming the identity and citizenship of the candidate, and number of the documented proof of the right to permanent residence in the Republic of Lithuania;
8) for candidates for the Seimas and presidential elections: absence of oaths or a pledges of allegiance to foreign state(s); for former holders of a citizenship of other state(s): documented proof of renouncement or loss of that citizenship; a written document drafted under certain formal and content requirements and attesting that the candidate is informed about the processing of personal data and understands that the Central Electoral Commission has the duty to receive data from the competent institutions of the Republic of Lithuania and other state(s) about oaths and pledges of allegiance to foreign states bounding candidates standing for elections to the Seimas and presidential elections in Lithuania, as well as on the existence, renouncement or loss of their citizenship of other state(s);
10) position(s) (if any) incompatible with the duties sought by a candidate standing in elections under the established procedure, and membership (if any) of an elected authority of another state;
11) record (if any) of deliberate collaboration with the special services of the former USSR. The website of the Central Electoral Commission must publish this data, alongside the name and surname of the person involved, within 24 hours from the submission of the questionnaire;
12) a conviction (court judgement) for having committed a criminal act imposed by the court of the Republic of Lithuania or a foreign state with effect after 11 March 1990, regardless of whether the conviction has expired or has been expunged from the criminal record. When providing this information, the candidate must indicate the place/country of handing down the conviction/judgement; the name of the authority that handed down the conviction/judgement; the date of the conviction/judgement; the kind of criminal act (crime or misconduct); the existence of intent in the commission of the criminal act (an act committed with intent or through negligence); the degree of seriousness of the criminal act (minor, less serious, serious, or grave); the object of the criminal act (title of the section of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania and the article referring to the criminal act) or the name of the criminal act under the criminal law of a foreign state; and expiry or expungement of the conviction from the criminal record (if any) complemented by the date of the expiry or expungement. Moreover, the candidate’s questionnaire must also include the information (if any) that the candidate has been found guilty of a criminal act by a court judgment (decision) and the criminal act was subsequently decriminalised; or that the candidate has been found guilty by a foreign court of a criminal act which is not criminalised under the law of the Republic of Lithuania or the prosecution for which is considered to constitute political prosecution;
13) any previous removal(s) from the office of the President of the Republic or loss of the mandate of a Member of the Seimas, a municipal councillor, a mayor, or a Member of the European Parliament for breach of an oath, gross violation of the Constitution, commission of a crime, or gross violation of this Code, with indication of the institution which adopted the decision and the date of its adoption.
2. The presidential candidate shall additionally indicate in the candidate’s questionnaire the following data:
3. In order to stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament, a candidate who is a national of another Member State of the European Union must additionally indicate in the candidate’s questionnaire:
1) the Member State of the European Union in which the candidate has the right to vote and the place or constituency of a Member State of the European Union on whose electoral roll the candidate was last entered;
4. The candidate’s biography must contain the information on the candidate’s date and place of birth, education, foreign language skills, workplace, work experience, social activities, hobbies, and marital status.
5. If the questionnaire includes information on any convictions for premeditated crime, the candidate’s poster published by the electoral committee, as well as the poster featuring a list of candidates must indicate that the candidate has been convicted for a minor, less serious, serious or grave premeditated criminal act by a court judgment, complemented by an indication of the date of the conviction, the object of the crime under the title of the section of the Criminal Code, or the title of the criminal act under the criminal law of a foreign state, and, where the conviction has been expunged from the criminal record, the posters shall indicate the fact of expungement where such information is contained in the state registers, the European Criminal Records Information System or, in the absence thereof in these registers and the information system, has been provided by the candidate, except for the cases where the candidate has been found guilty of a criminal act which has subsequently been decriminalised or if the candidate has been found guilty by a foreign court of a criminal act which is not criminalised under the law of the Republic of Lithuania or the prosecution for which is considered to constitute political prosecution.
6. Where a candidate’s questionnaire contains information on deliberate collaboration of the candidate with the special services of the former USSR, the candidate’s poster published by the electoral committee as well as the poster featuring the respective list of candidates must indicate that the candidate in question had deliberately collaborated with the special services of the former USSR.
7. Where a candidate’s questionnaire includes information on the candidate’s prior removal from the office of the President of the Republic, or on the candidate’s loss of the mandate of a Member of the Seimas, municipal councillor, mayor, or Member of the European Parliament for breach of an oath, gross violation of the Constitution, commission of a crime, or gross violation of this Code, the candidate’s poster published by the electoral committee, as well as a poster featuring the respective list of candidates, shall indicate that the candidate in question had been removed from the office of the President of the Republic or had lost the mandate of a Member of the Seimas, municipal council, mayor or Member of the European Parliament for breaking an oath, gross violation of the Constitution, commission of a crime, or gross violation of this Code; the poster shall also bear the indication of the date of the relevant decision/judgement.
Article 77. Merger of candidate lists
1. Before the deadline for submission of application documents, political parties/committees may form a coalition of political parties/committees by pooling the lists of candidates of a coalition of political parties or a coalition of political committees, respectively, into a joint list where the candidates are drawn up under the order of precedence established by the political parties or political committees constituting the coalition.
2. Political parties that form a coalition of political parties, political committees that form a coalition of political committees, or political parties/committees that form a joint list of candidates must submit to the Central Electoral Commission an application for merger of the lists of candidates, indicate the name of the coalition, and submit a document confirming the payment of the deposit for the merger of the lists of candidates.
3. The name of the coalition of political parties/political committees shall contain the word ‘coalition’ and full names of all the political parties or political committees involved in the coalition. The name of the coalition may not contain names of political parties or political committees outside the respective coalition of political parties/political committees and may not contain personal names and surnames.
4. A political party/political committee may draw up only one joint list of candidates per constituency in the course of the same elections.
5. The joint list of candidates shall be subject to membership size requirements and other requirements laid down in this Code in respect of the list of candidates.
Article 78. Submission of application documents
1. In elections to the Seimas, a political party shall submit its own and nominee application documents to the Central Electoral Commission; every self-nominated candidate shall submit application documents to the municipal electoral committee. Submission of application documents shall begin 83 days before polling day and shall end at 5 p.m. 65 days before polling day.
2. Application documents for presidential elections shall be submitted to the Central Electoral Commission. Submission of the application documents shall begin 83 days before polling day and end at 5 p.m. 65 days before polling day.
3. In elections to municipal councils and in mayoral elections, the submission of application documents shall begin 83 days before polling day. The political party shall submit its application documents to the Central Electoral Commission not later than at 5 p.m. 70 days before polling day. After the Central Electoral Commission (at the latest within three days of receipt of the application documents) approves of the participation of a political party in the elections in question, the application documents of the candidates nominated by that party shall be submitted to the municipal electoral committee not later than by 5 p.m. 65 days before polling day. The application documents of political committees and self-nominated mayoral candidates shall be submitted to the relevant municipal electoral committee not later than by 5 p.m. 65 days before polling day.
4. For the purposes of elections to the European Parliament, every political party and political committee shall submit their own and nominee application documents to the Central Electoral Commission. Submission of application documents shall begin 83 days before polling day and shall end at 5 p.m., 65 days before polling day.
5. The nomination of candidates for early presidential elections held under Article 87 or Article 89(1) of the Constitution two months after the date of their announcement shall begin on the day following the entry into force of a resolution of the Seimas/the Government on the announcement of presidential elections and shall be concluded not later than 45 days before polling day. Where presidential elections are held earlier than two in months after the date of their announcement, the 45-day time limit shall be reduced by the number of days short of the two-month deadline.
6. Documents submitted after the expiry of the deadline for the submission of the application documents shall not be recognised as application documents.
Article 79. Collection of voter signatures
1. In the cases laid down by this Code, the Central Electoral Commission, the constituency electoral committee or municipal electoral committee, as appropriate, shall, within three days of receipt of the application documents, issue to the political party, the political committee, the self-nominated candidate, or their election representative, the nominating petitions or adopt a reasoned decision on the refusal to issue them.
2. The nominating petition shall contain the following text: ‘I, as a voter, confirm my support for the list of candidates (names, surnames) nominated by the political party, political committee (name of the party or the committee), or the nominated (self-nominated) candidate (name, surname) for President of the Republic, Member of the Seimas, municipal councillor of (name of the municipality), mayor of (name of municipality), or Member of the European Parliament in the respective elections on (election date).’
3. The formal requirements for the nominating petition shall be established by the Central Electoral Commission.
4. The name and surname, the number of the passport/identity card/document confirming the right to permanent residence in the Republic of Lithuania, the address of the place of residence, the signature, and the date of the signature of the person who collected the voter signatures must be indicated at the bottom of the nominating petition.
5. On the nominating petition, the voter shall personally enter his or her name, surname, date of birth, number of the passport/identity card/document confirming the right to permanent residence in the Republic of Lithuania (for elections of municipal councillors, mayors and Members of the European Parliament), address, date, and signature.
6. Voters may support the candidate and/or list of candidates by their signatures electronically under the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission.
7. Where a voter is unable, for reasons of disability or for other reasons, to enter the necessary data on the nominating petition, a person other than the signature collector shall do so at the request of the voter concerned. In this case, an entry under the formal requirements established by the Central Electoral Commission shall be made in the nominating petition.
8. Upon the receipt of the nominating petition, a political party, a political committee, a nominee, and their election representative shall have the right to make the necessary media announcements and organise the collection of voter signatures.
9. Voter signatures shall be collected by persons eligible to vote. The person in charge of collecting voter signatures may collect signatures exclusively for a candidate and/or a list of candidates nominated by the same political party, exclusively for a candidate and/or a list of candidates nominated by the same political committee, or exclusively for one nominee.
10. The person in charge of collecting voter signatures shall be held liable for the collection of signatures under the procedure laid down in this Code. Bribing voters for support of a candidate’s nomination and/or nominated candidates, use of rewards, promises of rewards, use of threats in order to obtain support for a candidate and physical or electronic signatures, and other violations of the principle of the free will of the voters shall be prohibited.
11. The political party, the political committee, the nominee, or their election representative shall return nominating petitions at least 45 days before polling day to the electoral committee that had issued them. The nominating petitions shall be returned even where signature threshold required under this Code is not reached.
Article 80. Verification of application documents and nominating petitions
1. For the purpose of verification of the application documents completed by the candidate, the Central Electoral Commission shall determine whether the candidate complies with the requirements laid down in this Code. If necessary, on its own initiative or at the request of a constituency electoral committee or a municipal electoral committee, the Central Electoral Commission may address the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Justice, the processor of the Register of Legal Entities or other state institutions for provision of the data relevant for the registration of a candidate. Such a request from the Central Electoral Commission must be considered as a matter of extreme urgency and a written reply must be given within seven days, but not later than 32 days before the election.
2. The Central Electoral Commission shall determine the procedure for verifying the voter signatures in the nominating petitions, as well as voter signatures received electronically. Nominating petitions must be verified within ten days of their receipt, but not later than 32 days before polling day. The electoral committee in charge of verification of voter signatures shall count the signatures collected in support of a candidate or a list of candidates provided the signatures meet the requirements laid down in this Code.
3. When examining the application documents and the nominating petitions, the electoral committee shall determine whether the candidate and/or the list of candidates complies with the requirements laid down in this Code.
4. The signatures of the following persons shall not be taken into account:
5) all signatures of a voter who has signed several times in support of the same candidate and/or list of candidates;
5. If the application documents submitted under the requirements of this Code are incomplete or defective, the Central Electoral Commission must immediately notify the relevant election representative, set a term for remedying the deficiencies, and ensure that the term expires not later than 65 days before polling day.
6. The constituency electoral committee or the municipal electoral committee shall advise the Central Electoral Commission to register the candidate and/or the list of candidates provided the signature threshold set out in this Code is reached via the nominating petitions even after the signatures unfit for counting are excluded, and provided the application documents of a candidate/list of candidates comply with the requirements laid down in this Code and other legal acts.
7. The constituency electoral committee/municipal electoral committee shall advise the Central Electoral Commission against registering the candidate and/or the list of candidates if it is established that the voter signatures have been forged, the procedure for collecting voter signatures has been breached, or other requirements laid down in this Code have been violated during the collection of signatures, or if the application documents fail to meet the requirements laid down in this Code and other legal acts.
Article 81. Registration of candidates
1. The Central Electoral Commission shall take a decision in favour or against registering a candidate and/or a list of candidates at least 31 days before polling day.
2. A candidate and/or a list of candidates shall be registered provided all the application documents and forms for the collection of electoral signatures which meet the requirements of this Code and other legal acts have been submitted and the candidate meets the requirements laid down in this Code.
4. Candidate registration shall be denied or cancelled upon the establishment of at least one of the following circumstances:
3) failure of the submitted application documents to meet the requirements of this Code and other legal acts;
5) violation of the procedure for collecting voter signatures or other requirements laid down in this Code during the collection of signatures;
6) loss of the status of an independent participant by the candidate or by the political party/political committee that had nominated the candidate;
7) gross violation of the prohibition on bribing voters or of the rules for financing political campaigns set out in this Code;
8) pre-trial investigation initiated on the candidate, in which case candidate registration shall be cancelled at the request of the political organisation that had nominated the candidate or at the request of the nominated candidate;
5. The list of candidates shall not be registered or its registration shall be cancelled upon the establishment of at least one of the following circumstances:
4) violation of the procedure for collecting voter signatures or other requirements laid down in this Code during the collection of signatures;
5) loss of the status of an independent participant by the list of candidates or the political party/political committee;
6. If, having registered a candidate or a list of candidates, the Central Electoral Commission finds out that that candidate or the list of candidates fails to meet the requirements set out in Articles 80(4) and 80(5), it shall cancel the registration of that candidate or that list of candidates not later than 12 days before polling day. If less than 12 days are left before polling day or if the circumstances set out in in Articles 80(4) and 80(5) are established after the elections, the Central Electoral Commission shall take a decision on the cancellation of the registration of the candidate or the list of candidates after polling day, but not later than by the date of the confirmation of the final election results.
7. If a registration of a list of candidates is cancelled, the votes cast for the list shall be invalidated. If a candidate’s registration is cancelled, the votes cast for the candidate in a single-member constituency and/or the preference votes cast for the candidate in a multi-member constituency shall be invalidated. Where the votes cast are recognised to be invalid, the decision may be taken under the procedure set out in Article 181 to recognise the elections invalid.
8. If a self-nominated or nominated candidate in elections to the Seimas, presidential elections, local elections, mayoral elections, or elections to the European Parliament fails to indicate in the candidate’s questionnaire having knowingly collaborated with the special services of the former USSR, the Central Electoral Commission shall check the candidate’s data in this respect not later than 32 days before polling day by addressing the state institution storing the data on the collaboration of individuals with the special services of the former USSR. Upon receipt by the Central Electoral Commission of data from the competent authority that confirms a candidate’s collaboration with the special services of the former USSR, the Central Electoral Commission shall refuse to register the candidate or shall immediately cancel the registration, where it already exists; the Central Electoral Commission shall also publish this decision on its website. Should it be established, after elections and under the procedure set out by law, that a candidate had deliberately collaborated with the special services of the former USSR and failed to inform the Central Electoral Commission thereof, this shall be considered a gross violation of this Code.
9. Should the grounds be established, less than 12 days before polling day, for cancellation of the registration of a candidate or a list of candidates, the Central Electoral Commission shall use media to inform the voters about the cancellation of the registration of a candidate or a list of candidates ahead of the confirmation of the final results, the upcoming invalidation of the votes cast for that candidate or list of candidates and the possibility of the elections being declared invalid.
Article 82. Reduced time limits for registration of campaigners in presidential elections, for submission of application documents, and for collection of voter signatures
If early presidential elections under Article 87 or Article 89(1) of the Constitution are held earlier than after 2 months, the Central Electoral Commission shall determine the reduced time limits for holding them. The time limit of at least five days shall be set for the registration of campaigners and for the submission of application documents for presidential candidates; the time limit of at least 20 days shall be set for the collection of voter signatures.
Article 83. Election numbers
1. The Central Electoral Commission shall draw the election numbers of political parties and political committees by lot. Municipal electoral committees shall draw the specific numbers of the political committees by lot under the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission from the numbers reserved for political committees.
3. The political parties in their capacity of coalition members shall chose the election number of the joint list of candidates by consensus from the election numbers assigned to them. If the parties as coalition members fail to choose the election number of the coalition, the Central Electoral Commission shall assign to their joint list of candidates the lowest of number drawn by lot from the numbers assigned for political parties as coalition members.
4. The Central Electoral Commission and – for the purposes of municipal councillor and mayoral elections – the municipal electoral committee shall forward to the election representatives the candidates’ certificates indicating the election numbers. A candidate’s election number shall be identical to the candidate’s successive number on the list of candidates. A candidate’s election number may not be changed until the final results of the elections are published.
Article 84. Publication of the names of candidates, lists of candidates and application documents
1. At least 30 days before polling day, the Central Electoral Commission shall publish on its website the lists of candidates, names of candidates, their application documents, the election numbers of the lists of candidates, and the election numbers of the candidates on those lists.
Article 85. Publication of data on candidates
1. On the basis of application documents and other documents submitted by a political party, a political committee or a self-nominated candidate, the following information shall be published on the website of the Central Electoral Commission for indefinite duration:
1) a candidate’s questionnaire specifying the candidate’s first name, surname, date of birth, nationality, workplace, position (service), current and former membership of political organisations, period of membership, and mandatory data specified in this Code, namely, any court-imposed non-expired convictions and/or penal sanctions; commission of any criminal act recognised by a judgment in force (if any); and collaboration (if any) with the special services of the former USSR;
2) extracts of the key data from the candidate’s declarations submitted to the State Tax Inspectorate and approved by the recipient branch of the State Tax Inspectorate;
2. Until the end of the election campaign period, the Central Electoral Commission shall publish on its website the candidate’s telephone number, e-mail, website and social media accounts, as well as information as to restrictions (if any) on candidate’s right to take part in elections in another Member State of the European Union of which the candidate is a national and the place or constituency of the Member State in whose electoral roll the candidate was last entered.
3. The Central Electoral Commission shall publish on its website for indefinite duration the following data on candidates: the candidate’s first name and surname, the political party/political committee that had nominated the candidate, the election results (votes in favour, preference votes, successive number on the list of candidates prior to elections, successive number on the list of candidates after the elections, and the mandate received).
Article 86. Right to fill in the application documents
1. Political organisations, their coalitions, or any person seeking to become a candidate may additionally submit new application documents before the expiry of the deadline for the submission of the application documents.
2. Before the end of the time limit for the submission of application documents, political organisations and their coalitions may supplement the list of candidates by not more than two candidates and modify the list of candidates accordingly. In this case, the nominating petitions shall not be replaced by new ones.
Article 87. Right to withdraw the application documents
1. Not later than 40 days before polling day, a political organisation, and a coalition of political organisations shall have the right to withdraw documents and the application documents of a nominee by submitting a request thereof to the Central Electoral Commission; a self-nominated nominee or a political party/committee nominee may withdraw his or her application documents by a notarised application or by an application signed by a qualified electronic signature.
2. Should the application documents be withdrawn by a political party/political committee as member of a coalition, this shall result in removal of the candidates nominated thereby from the joint list of candidates, complemented by a coalition name change for coalitions whose name contains a reference to the name of the party/political committee whose application documents are withdrawn. The political party/political committee as a coalition member withdrawing the application documents must notify the other member of the coalition and the Central Electoral Commission in writing about the withdrawal of the application documents. If withdrawal of the application documents leaves nominations of a single political party/political committee on the joint list of candidates, they shall participate in the elections only as candidates nominated by the party/political committee in question.
3. Should the withdrawal of the application documents or cancellation of registration of candidates result in fewer than 25 candidates remaining on the list of candidates running for elections to the Seimas, the registration shall be cancelled for all of the listed candidates. The same shall apply for elections to the European Parliament where the figure of remaining listed candidates is less than five, and for local elections where the figure of remaining listed candidates is less than half of the number of members of the municipal council to be elected in that municipality.
Article 88. Election deposit
1. For the purposes of elections, average monthly earnings in the whole economy (hereinafter: AME) applicable for elections shall be equal to the national AME for the third quarter of the previous calendar year, rounded up to the integer.
2. The electoral deposit for registration of a single list of candidates in the elections to the Seimas/the European Parliament in a multi-member constituency shall amount to five AMEs applicable for elections.
3. The electoral deposit for the registration of one candidate in elections to the Seimas in a single-member constituency shall be equal to the size of one AME applicable for elections. The deposit payable for registration of a new candidate in a single-member constituency in elections to the Seimas replacing the candidate whose application documents have been withdrawn either by the candidate or the Central Electoral Commission shall amount to one AME applicable for elections.
4. The electoral deposit for the registration of one presidential candidate shall amount to five AMEs applicable for elections and must be paid from that candidate’s account.
5. The electoral deposit for the registration of a single list of candidates for local elections alongside nomination of a candidate for a mayor in the same municipality shall amount to a single AME applicable for elections, provided the deposit is payed per list of candidates or per nominee/self-nominee in mayoral elections.
6. If candidates listed on the list of candidates in local elections serve in positions incompatible with the position of a member of the municipal council, an electoral deposit for each such candidate shall amount to two AMEs applicable for elections, with the exception of the election deposit for candidates whose term of office ends at the end of the term of office of the municipal council and the mayor.
7. In a multi-member constituency, the cost of changing the position of a candidate on the list of candidates and the cost of entering a new candidate on the list of candidates shall amount to one AME applicable for elections; the cost per list of a merger of lists of candidates shall amount to 0.3 AMEs applicable for elections.
8. The electoral deposits for the registration of a list of candidates shall be set at twice the established amount in respect of the political organisation which had nominated candidates or a list of candidates in the previous elections and failed to submit a report on the financing of the political campaign and/or a set of financial statements for the preceding calendar year within the time limit laid down in this Code.
Article 89. Return of the electoral deposit
1. The electoral deposit shall be returned to the political organisation or a candidate that had paid it, provided the following conditions are met:
1) the campaigner has submitted, within the time limits laid down in this Code, a report on the financing of the political campaign, annexes to the report, and documented proof of the expenditure and income;
2) the candidates have not violated Article 101 and have not grossly violated the provisions of this Code governing the financing and control of financing political campaigns, and have not committed any other gross violations under this Code;
2. The electoral deposit shall also be returned to the political organisation or candidate which had paid it subject to withdrawal, within the time limits laid down in this Code, of the application documents, provided the requirements laid down in paragraph (1), points (1) and (2) are met.
3. The electoral deposit set for each candidate in separation in Article 88(6) shall be returned to the political party, political committee or candidate who had paid it, provided that the return follows the requirements laid down in paragraph (1) and the candidate has not been elected; the same rule shall also apply for candidates who were elected or were recognised to be elected and subsequently renounced the post as incompatible with the office of a member of the municipal council, provided the renouncement was made not later than 10 days before the date of the first meeting of the municipal council.
4. In the event of death of a candidate, the deposit paid by the candidate shall be returned to the heirs of the property of the deceased, provided that the requirements laid down in paragraphs (1) or (2) have been met.
5. Electoral deposits shall be returned by the Central Electoral Commission to the political organisations or candidates who had paid them at the following time limits:
1) not later than within 40 days after the end of the political campaign. In the case of investigations into the irregularities set out in in Article 89(1)(2), the return of the electoral deposit shall be postponed until the investigation is concluded;
2) not later than within 60 days after the official publication of the final results of the elections, provided that the report on the financing of the electoral political campaign, its annexes and all expenditure and income documents are submitted to the Central Electoral Commission not later than 10 days after the official publication of the final results of the elections and provided that the conditions set out in paragraph (1), points (2) and (3) are met. If the investigation demonstrates that part of the documents have not been submitted, the electoral deposit shall be returned within the time limits laid down in paragraph (1), point (1).
6. The electoral deposit shall not be returned to the political organisation or candidate that had paid it under the following conditions:
1) late or defective submission of application documents, resulting in failure to register the candidate/list of candidates (joint list);
4) the registration of a candidate/list of candidates (joint list) has been cancelled under the procedure laid down in this Code;
Article 90. The candidate’s right to election leave
1. Candidates shall be granted election leave for a maximum of 30 days at their own written request. An application for election leave shall be submitted to the employer.
2. The procedure for granting election leave to candidates holding positions in the Government shall be laid down by law.
Article 91. Election representative
1. An election representative shall be a person eligible to vote in the relevant elections who is appointed by a political organisation or by a self-nominated candidate in a single-member constituency for representation of the interests of a political party/political committee/candidate and a political party/a candidate nominated by a political committee, where the representation covers all matters throughout the electoral period.
2. The election representative shall have all the rights of an election observer. The election representative shall have the right to express an opinion on all matters discussed at the meetings of the electoral committees.
3. In addition to the rights enjoyed by an election representative, as set out in Article 91(2), the election representative of a presidential candidate shall have the right to represent the presidential candidate in meetings with voters and in the media, the right to raise funds to finance the elections, as well as the right to carry out other assignments of the presidential candidate, as long as they do not conflict with the law.
4. Submission to the Central Electoral Commission of the authorisations by political organisations for election representatives to represent the nominees of those political organisations in electoral committees shall begin on the next day after the establishment of the relevant electoral committees. Submission of authorisations to represent a political organisation at the Central Electoral Commission may begin on the day of announcement of the election date.
5. Candidates self-nominated in single-member constituencies shall, alongside with sending the application documents, notify constituencies or municipal electoral committees of the authorised election representatives assigned to represent those candidates in electoral committees.
6. An electoral committee shall register the election representative within three days after receiving the authorisation for assigning an election representative.
7. The political party, political committee or candidate who had appointed an election representative shall submit a request for the withdrawal of an election representative to the relevant electoral committee.
8. The power of attorney of an election representative shall expire under the following conditions:
3) on the last day of the time limit for the submission of appeals against cancellation of the registration of a campaigner, where no appeals are filed; on the day of rejection of the appeal, where appeals have been filed;
Article 92. Election observers
1. Voters and persons nominated by entities representing foreign states or international organisations may act as election observers. The mayor, the director of the municipal administration, their deputies, wardens and their deputies, as well as persons whose status is incompatible with the status of an election observer under Article 26(4) may not act as election observers in a municipality whose territory falls within the constituency that falls within the remit of the election observer.
2. Election observers may be nominated by the following entities:
2) non-governmental organisations registered in the Republic of Lithuania whose activities are associated with either elections or protection of human rights;
3) international organisations whose activities are associated with either elections or protection of human rights;
3. Political organisations, self-nominated candidates and non-governmental organisations shall have the right to nominate for registration no more than two election observers in each polling district. Applications for registration of election observers must be submitted by the last Monday before polling day, unless it is necessary to replace a person who, for objective reasons, is unable to act as an election observer.
4. The following entities shall register and certify election observers:
1) the Central Electoral Commission shall register and certify election observers entitled to observe elections throughout the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, as well as in constituencies, diplomatic missions and consular offices of the Republic of Lithuania, additional polling places abroad under the diplomatic missions or consular offices of the Republic of Lithuania, all the territory of municipalities, special polling places, and polling districts;
5. Registration of election observers shall be governed by the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission and shall follow the principle of equal treatment of election observers nominated by all political organisations, candidates and non-governmental organisations.
6. Electoral committees may refuse registration to election observers under the following circumstances: failure by the election observer to meet the requirements of this Code; conflict of activities of the election observer with the Constitution or laws; violation of the Constitution or laws by the election observer; failure of the election observer to comply with the decisions of the Central Electoral Commission. The registration of the election observer may be cancelled by the chair of the electoral committee that has registered the observer or by the chair of a hierarchically supreme electoral committee. The person who has nominated the election observer shall be informed about the refusal to issue the election observer’s certificate or about the cancellation of the registration of the election observer.
7. In polling stations of polling districts, election observers must be provided with adequate conditions enabling them to observe the organisation of voting, the counting of votes and the drawing up of the documents specified in this Code.
8. The rights of election observers:
1) to observe the activities of the relevant electoral committee, including the registration of voters and candidates;
3) to monitor the voting process, including the issue of ballot papers, the voting itself, the counting of votes, and the determination of results;
4) to get acquainted with the documents of the electoral committee under the rules ensuring the protection of personal data;
5) to make photos, video and audio recordings under the rules for the protection of personal data, with the consent of individuals concerned, and without prejudice to the right to a secret ballot;
9. When observing elections, election observers may not influence the work of electoral committees and individual members of the committees, thereby disrupting their activities and elections, and may not engage in campaigning. The entity in charge of nominating the election observer shall be in charge of preparation of an election observer for carrying out the functions of an election observer.
Article 93. Basic principles of election campaigning
1. Election campaigning shall include the activities intended for the dissemination of political advertising.
2. Election campaigning shall be conducted in compliance with the Constitution, this Code and other laws, and follow the principles of morality, justice, social harmony and fair and honest elections. It shall be prohibited to carry out election campaigning activities which conflicts with the requirements referred to in this paragraph and to use means of manipulating social media platform accounts.
3. The Central Electoral Commission shall make recommendations on election campaigning that complies with the requirements of this Code and on dissemination of political advertising, shall resolve all disputes relating to election campaigning, and shall decide whether the released information constitutes political advertising and whether the information released through the mass media during election campaigning is compromising.
Article 94. Right of candidates to speak
After the announcement by the Central Electoral Commission of candidates and lists of candidates, the candidates shall be entitled to speak at voters’ meetings or any other meetings, gatherings, sittings and specialised election campaigning programmes and to announce their election programme or the election programme of the political party or political committee which has nominated them.
Article 95. Definition and marking of political advertising
1. Political advertising shall consist of positive or negative information disseminated by, on behalf and/or in the interest of a state politician, a political organisation, its member, a campaigner, a candidate in any form and through any means, in return for payment or free of charge, during an electoral political campaign or between electoral political campaigns, where such information is aimed at affecting election results or influencing the motivation of voters when voting in an election, or where it is disseminated for the purpose of election campaigning for a state politician, a political organisation, its member, an campaigner or a candidate, as well as their ideas, objectives or programme.
2. Paid political advertising shall be political advertising which is prepared, produced and/or disseminated for payment or political advertising for the preparation, production and/or dissemination of which financial resources are used or persons are involved who normally provide such services for payment.
3. Payment for political advertising linked to an electoral political campaign may only be limited to a campaigner.
4. Paid political advertising must be clearly distinguished from other information disseminated under the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission. Throughout the period from the beginning of an electoral political campaign and the proclamation of the final results of an election, paid political advertising must be clearly marked as such by indicating the source of financing under the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission.
5. Unmarked political advertising shall be considered to be hidden political advertising. Political advertising which is not marked in accordance with the requirements and hidden political advertising shall be prohibited and their dissemination shall be subject to statutory liability.
6. Besides the special requirements laid down in this Code, the principles and requirements set out in other laws shall also apply to political advertising.
7. Before political advertising is made public, a campaigner must declare to the Central Electoral Commission, under the procedure laid down by the latter, all social media accounts through which it intends to carry out paid political advertising and election campaigning as well as the persons authorised to administer and pay for the dissemination of paid political advertising on those accounts.
Article 96. Rates and conditions for political advertising
1. From the beginning of an electoral political campaign until the proclamation of the final results of an election, producers or disseminators of public information may only disseminate political advertising in accordance with the rates and conditions applicable to political advertising, which are identical for all the campaigners, and which are published on the website of the Central Electoral Commission.
2. No later than 30 days before an election, the producers or disseminators of public information shall submit to the Central Electoral Commission the rates and conditions applicable to political advertising. The rates and conditions applicable to political advertising may be amended under the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission, at the latest before the beginning of an electoral political campaign. The Central Electoral Commission shall immediately publish the rates on its website.
Article 97. Dissemination of political advertising through the mass media
1. It shall be prohibited to disseminate political advertising under the following conditions:
2. Producers and disseminators of public information may refuse to disseminate political advertising that contains information compromising other political organisations or campaigners and/or candidates nominated by them in the case of the refusal to bear potential costs expenses related to dissemination of a counter opinion.
3. The following shall not be regarded as political advertising:
1) routine information notice about the activities of state politicians, political organisations and candidates disseminated during an electoral political campaign free of charge and without any intention of any payment in future, except where such notices are used for election campaigning;
2) information on election programmes which is disseminated free of charge through the mass media by producers and disseminators of public information during the electoral political campaign, in line with the principles of objectivity and equality of the campaigners;
3) regular information notices about the activities of state politicians, political organisations and their management bodies which are disseminated during the period other than the electoral political campaign, with the exception of cases where such notices are used to campaign for voting in the interest of a state politician, political organisation or its candidate during a future electoral political campaign, or a payment is made or expected to be made for such notices.
4. A declaration of a producer or disseminator of public information shall be a document to be submitted to the Central Electoral Commission, by which the producer or disseminator of public information declares the political advertising that has been disseminated, indicating its price, rates, publishing time/space and the person in whose interest the political advertising has been disseminated as well as the person who has commissioned the production or dissemination of the political advertising and the person who has paid for the dissemination of the political advertising.
5. During an electoral political campaign, producers or disseminators of public information must fill in an online declaration of the producer or disseminator of public information no later than within ten working days of the dissemination of political advertising. During the electoral political campaign, the declaration of the producer or disseminator of public information shall be submitted to the Central Electoral Commission no later than within ten working days after the proclamation of the final results of an election/rerun election. During the period other than the electoral political campaign, the declaration of the producer or disseminator of public information shall be submitted to the Central Electoral Commission no later than within one month after the end of the calendar year.
Article 98. Outdoor political advertising
1. Outdoor political advertising shall be interpreted in this Code as outdoor advertising located outside the premises, on various designated means of display, including but not limited to screens, stands, billboards, poles and shop windows and various adapted means of display, including but not limited to building walls, windows, doors, roofs, temporary construction works, vehicles and hot air balloons. Outdoor political advertising shall also include the following:
1) advertising where the means of presentation are indoors (in shop windows, on the inside of windows and/or doors) but which are visible from outside;
2. Outdoor political advertising shall be disseminated in compliance with the rules on outdoor political advertising set out by the Central Electoral Commission. Municipal institutions may regulate the placement of outdoor political advertising in municipalities insofar as it meets the provisions of this Code and the rules on outdoor political advertising approved by the Central Electoral Commission and is in line with the principles of equality of campaigners and candidates.
3. It shall be prohibited to place and disseminate outdoor political advertising in the following locations:
2) in or on the exterior of public transport vehicles operated by state or municipal enterprises, with the exception of the cases where advertising areas or video broadcast equipment are owned or transferred for use to third persons who are beyond direct or indirect influence by state or municipal enterprises;
3) on motorways and in their sanitary protection areas, as well as in and alongside the streets if they are likely to obstruct traffic control devices and road signs, reduce visibility and cause dazzle or distraction to road users thereby endangering them; placing political advertising that imitates road signs shall also be prohibited;
6) without the written permission of the owner of the land, construction works or other structures on/in which the advertising is placed. Natural persons permitting the placement of outdoor political advertising on the existing designated means of display (stands, billboards, poles, shop windows, etc.) and legal persons may not give their consent to the placement or dissemination of outdoor political advertising free of charge, with the exception of notice boards where all notices are normally posted free of charge;
4. The obligation to remove, within one month of the date of the proclamation of the final results of an election, all outdoor political advertising shall lie with the persons who disseminated the said advertising.
Article 99. Campaign broadcasts
1. Dedicated campaign broadcasts (hereinafter: ‘dedicated broadcasts’) may be broadcast on television, over the radio and online. Dedicated broadcasts may take the form of broadcasts of either national or regional level. They shall be organised during an electoral political campaign in accordance with the rules approved by the Central Electoral Commission, after the campaigners have been made aware of these rules.
2. National-level dedicated broadcasts shall be attended by the following:
1) representatives of lists of candidates nominated in a multi-member constituency of an election to the Seimas;
3. Regional-level dedicated broadcasts shall be attended by the following:
4. The Lithuanian National Radio and Television shall produce and transmit national-level dedicated broadcasts from the budget appropriations allocated to it. The Central Electoral Commission shall, in agreement with the Head of the Lithuanian National Radio and Television, approve the rules governing the preparation, length and scheduling of these broadcasts.
5. Producers and transmitters chosen by the Central Electoral Commission shall produce and transmit regional-level dedicated broadcasts in accordance with the rules governing their production. The production and transmission of regional-level dedicated broadcasts shall be funded from the state budget appropriations allocated to the Central Electoral Commission for the organisation and holding of elections.
6. The Central Electoral Commission shall determine the number of participants of dedicated broadcasts. When large numbers of participants intend to take part in dedicated broadcasts, groups may be formed on the basis of a written agreement between the participants or, in the absence of an agreement, by drawing lots.
7. All broadcasters shall be entitled to produce debates on their own initiative, ensuring the diversity of opinions, equal treatment of campaigners and their representatives attending the debate, and acting in compliance with the requirements for financing electoral political campaigns laid down in this Code. Other conditions set out in this Article shall not apply to the said debates. State politicians and/or civil servants may attend the debates by virtue of their office, provided that the debates contain no political advertising.
Article 100. Release of compromising information and counter opinion
1. After an electoral political campaign period begins, every campaigner, list of candidates or candidate shall be entitled to require the publication of a counter opinion about them in the mass media outlet which has released any compromising information about them. Compromising information shall include information intended to persuade voters against voting for a campaigner, a list of candidates or a candidate and/or information that negatively describes a participant, a list of candidates or a candidate. The requirement to publish a counter opinion may be rejected where: the compromising information refers to other than the campaigner, the list of candidates or the candidate; the published information fails to meet the compromising information criteria set out in this Article; the compromising information about the campaigner, the list of candidates or the candidate has been released by the campaigner or the candidate; the information published does not contains no information describing the campaigner, the list of candidates or the candidate; the campaigner, the list of candidates or the candidate has already exercised the right to a counter opinion. Structural subdivisions of a political organisation shall also be entitled to publishing a counter opinion, with the consent of that political organisation.
2. It shall be prohibited to release compromising information in the mass media three days prior to an election and in the last periodical published prior to the election. After releasing compromising information about a campaigner, a list of candidates or a candidate, the mass media outlet must grant them the right to publish a counter opinion. When applying to the mass media for the publication of a counter opinion, the campaigner, the list of candidates or the candidate must provide a written explanation as to why the disseminated information is compromising. The counter opinion shall consist of a brief acknowledgement of the compromising information released and a refutation. In general, the counter opinion may not exceed three times the size volume of the compromising information. The mass media outlet must publish the counter opinion within five working days from its receipt or in the next issue of the periodical, but no later than two days before the date of poll. If the mass media outlet itself cannot publish the counter opinion during the time limit set by this Code, it must make arrangements, at its own expense, to publish the counter opinion in another mass media outlet in an adequate manner.
3. Disputes concerning the publication of a counter opinion shall be settled by the Central Electoral Commission. At the request of a campaigner, a list of candidates or a candidate regarding the publication of a counter opinion, the mass media outlet may request the Central Electoral Commission to assess whether the disseminated information is considered to be compromising. The Central Electoral Commission must consider inquiries of the campaigners, the list of candidates, the candidates and the mass media outlets and reply to them within four working days, but no later than three days before the date of poll.
4. If a campaigner, a list of candidates or a candidate applies to a mass media outlet and submits the text of a counter opinion and a timely request to publish the counter opinion, yet the counter opinion is not made public, the counter opinion shall, by the decision of the Central Electoral Commission, be broadcast on the Lithuanian National Radio and Television and shall be paid for at the rates of information announcements approved by the Lithuanian National Radio and Television. In this event, the mass media outlet must pay the Central Electoral Commission two times the amount of the broadcast costs.
5. Publishing counter opinions during the electoral silence period shall be prohibited. Release of compromising information and publishing of a counter opinion during the electoral silence period shall render the manager of the producer or disseminator of public information liable under the law.
Article 101. Prohibition on bribery of voters
1. From the start of an electoral political campaign, i.e. from the announcement of the date of poll until polling day and also on polling day, it shall be prohibited to directly or indirectly buy votes; to induce voters to attend the poll and/or to vote for or against one or another person to be nominated as a candidate, for or against a candidate or a list of candidates, by offering gifts, services or other rewards; to promise to reward voters for their vote after the election with the view to affecting the will of the voters with regard to certain political organisations, candidates or persons to be nominated as candidates and thus hinder citizens from exercising their right to vote.
2. Distribution of campaign material (an action programme or an election programme, leaflets, calendars, postcards, and stickers of biographical or other type of information) shall not be considered as bribery of voters.
3. During the period of their activities, constituency electoral committees and municipal electoral committees shall, under the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission, investigate the facts of bribery of voters. Decisions of the constituency electoral committees and municipal electoral committees may be appealed against to the Central Electoral Commission. The Central Electoral Commission shall publish a decision concerning the established fact of bribery of voters on its website together with a pledge by the candidate who has violated this Article to comply with the prohibition on bribery of voters. The recognition of the facts of bribery of voters as gross infringement of this Code shall entail the consequences defined in this Code and other laws.
Article 102. Prohibition to take advantage of one’s official position for election campaigning
1. In conducting election campaigning, everyone shall be prohibited to take advantage of their official position in state, municipal or European Union institutions, agencies, organisations or bodies as well as in the Lithuanian National Radio and Television, regional broadcasters or municipal media, or from instructing other persons to do so or from trying to affect the voters’ will in any other manner by taking advantage of their official position or making use of state, municipal or European Union funds. State politicians, officials, European Union officials, civil servants and other officials and employees working under employment contracts shall be prohibited to take advantage of their official position in state and municipal institutions and agencies for creating exceptional election campaigning conditions for themselves or others.
2. A candidate holding a position in state, municipal or European Union institutions or agencies or the Lithuanian National Radio and Television may, in carrying out election campaigning activities, speak through a regional broadcaster or the municipal media only under the procedure laid down by this Code. If a candidate’s official duties require the candidate to announce important news through the mass media, the candidate may do so by adhering to the prohibition on engaging in election campaigning. If it is established that the live broadcasting of the said news contained election campaigning, liability shall rest with the person who engaged in such election campaigning. The mass media outlet must ensure that the election campaigning element is removed before making the recording public.
3. Employees of state, municipal and European Union institutions, agencies, organisations or bodies as well as employees of business, commercial and other private bodies or enterprises shall be prohibited to campaign during the official working hours set in those institutions, agencies, organisations, bodies or enterprises, except for the cases when campaigning activities are carried out during the period of leave of the employees.
4. Persons who infringe this Article shall be liable under the procedure laid down by law, without prejudice to Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union annexed to the Treaty on European Union, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community.
Article 103. Election campaigning prohibition
1. The prohibition on election campaigning, including campaigning for other concurrently held elections and referendums, regardless of the methods, forms and means of election campaigning, shall begin on polling day seven hours before the commencement of poll and last until the close of poll on polling day. Exceptions shall apply to outdoor political advertising disseminated no later than on the last working day before the commencement of the election silence and displayed at a distance not closer than 50 metres from the building housing the polling station and to the information (notices, records) which is not considered to constitute election campaigning and which is disseminated by campaigners free of charge on the websites and personal social media accounts of the campaigners and candidates nominated by them.
2. During early voting, it shall be prohibited to carry out election campaigning activities in a polling station and within 50 metres from the building in which voting is conducted.
3. Information about the course and importance of an election for public life, the turnout, the documents required for voting, or any other information which does not instigate non-participation in the election, voting for or against a candidate or a list of candidates, also an invitation of a non-participant of an electoral political campaign to arrive to vote shall not be regarded as election campaigning.
Article 104. Sources of financing for electoral political campaigns of independent participants
1. An electoral political campaign of an independent participant shall be funded only from the following sources:
2. Funds to finance an electoral political campaign of an independent participant must be held in the independent participant’s electoral political campaign account. The electoral political campaign account shall not be subject to any interim measures.
Article 105. Sources of financing for electoral political campaigns of representative participants
Electoral political campaigns of representative participants shall be financed only with electoral political campaigning funds of independent participants who have nominated them. If the donor, when donating, specifies a representative campaigner to whom the donation is made, such donation may not be used to fund the electoral political campaign of other (independent or representative) participants. No later than within five working days after the run-off voting, the value of donations exceeding the expenditure limit of a representative campaigner shall be returned to the donors in the order of receipt, started with the latest donation received.
Article 106. Funds of political organisations for financing electoral political campaigns
Political organisations shall be entitled to finance electoral political campaigns of the lists of candidates nominated by them and of the candidates nominated in single-member constituencies by transferring funds to the electoral political campaign accounts of those campaigners and to make donations to other campaigners.
Article 107. Donations
1. Donation shall mean the money transferred free of charge to a campaigner (hereinafter: a ‘donee’) or the benefit in non-monetary form specified in Article 109(1) and intended for an electoral political campaign.
Article 108. Small donations and collection thereof
1. Small donation shall mean an amount of monetary donations made by a donor during an electoral political campaign per independent participant not exceeding 0.03 of the AME, applicable to an election, rounded to the nearest ten.
2. Independent participants may collect small donations directly (by bank transfer to an electoral political campaign account) or by other means allowing identification of the donor (by telephone, the internet and other information and communication technologies).
3. Making mobile small donations shall be limited to natural persons who have concluded a contract for the provision of services with an information and communications company. At the request of the Central Electoral Commission, the information and communication company must submit a list of the persons who have made mobile small donations together with the data allowing identification of the donors.
4. For collecting small donations by other means, a campaigner must conclude a contract with the service provider. The campaigner must, no later than within three working days of the conclusion of the contract, forward a copy of the contract to the Central Electoral Commission. The Central Electoral Commission shall, no later than on the next working day, publish the text of the contract on its website.
5. The collection of small donations shall end on the last working day before the start of the election silence. Upon the expiry of this period, small donations collected by other means must be transferred to the independent participant’s electoral political campaign account no later than the next working day.
Article 109. In-kind donations
1. In-kind donation shall mean movable or immovable things, information, ownership rights, results of intellectual activities as well as other material and non-material values transferred to an independent participant for free, gratuitous actions and voluntary work, and results of the actions, where the costs of their acquisition are regarded as electoral political campaign expenditure pursuant to Article 114(8).
2. When a campaigner acquires goods and receives services for the needs of an electoral political campaign at a price below the market price, the difference in the price shall be considered an in-kind donation.
3. The procedure for appraising in-kind donations and estimating their fair value shall be laid down by the Government or an institution authorised by it.
4. A donation receipt shall be a document containing technological security measures and bearing a serial number and a number assigned during the time of its production for the purpose of attesting the transfer-acceptance of the in-kind donation.
5. Upon establishing its value, an in-kind donation shall be recorded as a donation and as electoral political campaign spending.
Article 110. Donors and amounts of donations
1. The following persons shall have the right to make donations:
1) citizens of the Republic of Lithuania – to independent participants of all electoral political campaigns;
2) permanent residents of the Republic of Lithuania holding citizenship of another EU Member State – to independent participants of political campaigns for elections to the European Parliament and municipal elections as well as mayoral elections;
2. One donor may, during an electoral political campaign, donate to each independent participant the amount not exceeding the amount of 10 AMEs applied at an election.
3. In a single-member constituency, a candidate may donate the amount not exceeding 20 AMEs applied at an election for financing the candidate’s own electoral political campaign. The sum shall include the amount of assumed political campaign debt obligations and the amount of electoral political campaign expenditure paid prior to the beginning of the electoral political campaign.
4. Natural persons who make more than a small donation must declare under the procedure laid down by law their income prior to making the donation to independent participants.
5. The total amount of donations made by a natural person to independent participants and the membership fee paid to a political organisation during a calendar year may not exceed ten per cent of the amount of the annual income declared by the natural person for the last calendar year, for donations made after 1 May, or the amount of the annual income declared by the natural person for the calendar year preceding the previous year, for donations made before 1 May.
6. The total donation of a candidate in a single-member constituency and referendum initiators to fund own electoral political campaign during a calendar year, including the donations of the natural person made to other independent participants and the membership fees paid to a political organisation, may not exceed 20 per cent of the amount of the annual income declared by such persons for the last calendar year, for donations made after 1 May, or the amount of the annual income declared for the calendar year preceding the previous year, for donations made before 1 May as well as the declared funds possessed.
7. Any agreement between a donor and a donee to undertake certain actions in the future in exchange for a donation shall be prohibited.
Article 111. Impermissible donations
1. The use of donations that violate the requirements of this Code for political campaigns shall be prohibited. If such donations are received and a donor is known, the treasurer must, within 15 working days from the receipt of such donation, return the donation to the donor, indicating the reason for refusing to accept the donation. Failing to identify the donor, the treasurer shall transfer the donation to the state budget within 20 working days. The return of the donation to the donor or its transfer to the state budget shall be suspended by the decision of the Central Electoral Commission, if criminal proceedings are initiated or are being conducted for illegal financing of electoral political campaigns or if an investigation of the political organisation’s activities is carried out under the procedure laid down in this Law. The return of the donation to the donor or its transfer to the state budget shall continue by the decision of the Central Electoral Commission in the event of termination of the pre-trial investigation, case, proceedings or the investigation of the political party’s activities, also if the judgment of acquittal comes into force or the judgment of conviction becomes effective, provided but the funds in question have not been confiscated.
2. It shall be prohibited to fund campaigners through third parties. Small donations collected on the basis of the agreement referred to in Article 108(3) and (4) and transferred to an independent participant shall not be considered as financing of independent participant through third parties.
3. Donations in excess of the share of declared annual income and available funds set out in Article 110(5) and (6) shall not be considered impermissible and may be used to fund an electoral political campaign, provided that, according to the data available in the information system of the Central Electoral Commission at the time of the request of the treasurer, the total amount of donations made to an independent participant by the donor, candidate or referendum initiator, including a donation offered to the independent participant, and of membership fees paid to the political organisation does not exceed the specified amount.
4. Persons who are not entitled under this Code to fund campaigners prohibited to support them in any form.
5. If it is established that a campaigner has accepted and used funds or in-kind donations from other sources of financing unspecified in this Code, or donations, the amount of which exceeds the amount of a small donation, that fail to meet the requirements of this Code, the Central Electoral Commission shall oblige the campaigner to transfer the sum of the amount of spent funds or in-kind donations to the state budget within 20 working days, unless the party has been deprived of state budget appropriations due to gross infringements of this Code.
Article 112. Collection of donations
2. It shall be prohibited to accept donations granted later than on the last working day before the beginning of the election silence or after a campaigner loses this status.
3. Before submitting a report on the financing of an electoral political campaign to the Central Electoral Commission, an independent campaigner may transfer funds intended to cover assumed liabilities to the dedicated electoral political campaign account, and a representative campaigner may transfer such funds to the account of an independent campaigner representing the representative electoral campaigner, in compliance with the amounts of donations referred to in Article 110.
4. Monetary donations may be collected only by bank transfer and through the use of electronic means of payment enabling the identification of the donor. It shall be prohibited to accept monetary donations in cash.
Article 113. Accounting of donations
1. A donation shall be considered accepted when the treasurer, having verified that the donation received meets the requirements of this Code, enters that donation on an accounting record of electoral political campaign financing (hereinafter: an ‘accounting ledger’) and, in the case of an in-kind donation, hands in (sends) the donation receipt to the donor.
2. A campaigner shall have no right to use the donations received for financing a political campaign, unless they are registered in the accounting ledger; the same goes for in-kind donations, unless the treasurer has filled in the relevant donation receipt.
3. Donations shall be registered in the accounting ledger indicating the donor’s full name, personal number, the date and amount of the donation, and the representative campaigner to whom the donation is made, where specified by the donor. Providing a personal number shall not be required for registering small donations.
4. Voluntary work shall be registered in the accounting ledger, specifying the tasks performed, their extent and time of performance, and the performers.
5. When accepting an in-kind donation, a donation receipt must be filled in within five working days from the receipt of the donation. The donation receipt must include information on the in-kind donation, its market value, and the full name and personal number of the donor. The donation receipt shall be prepared in three copies: the first copy to the donor, the second to the Central Electoral Commission, and the third copy to the donee.
6. The treasurer shall publish on the website of the Central Electoral Commission the full name of the donor, the representative campaigner to whom the donation is made, where specified by the donor, the date of the receipt of the donation, the value of the donation, the amounts of small donations to independent and representative campaigners without distinguishing between the donors, and the donations returned to the donors or transferred to the state budget. This publication must occur no later than within ten working days from the receipt of the donation.
Article 114. Electoral political campaign expenditure and limits thereon
1. Electoral political campaign expenditure shall cover the expenses specified in this Article intended for organising and financing an electoral political campaign, irrespective of the date of the transaction which has entailed the expenses.
2. When an electoral political campaign begins, all expenditure to finance the electoral political campaign may be paid only from the funds in the electoral political campaign account.
3. For the constituency covering the entire territory of the Republic of Lithuania, the maximum expenditure per campaigner (a candidate in a single-member constituency/ a list of candidates) for financing the electoral political campaign shall be calculated as follows: the number of voters entered on the electoral roll of the Republic of Lithuania shall be multiplied by 0.0005 of the AME applicable for an election and the product received shall be rounded up to the first two significant digits.
4. For a constituency covering a part of the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, the maximum expenditure per campaigner (a candidate in a single-member constituency/a list of candidates) for financing of an electoral political campaign shall be calculated as follows: the number of voters in one constituency shall be multiplied by 0.001 of the AME applicable for an election and the product received shall be rounded up to the first two significant digits. If the product received is less than 10 amounts of the AME applicable for the election, the limit on expenditure shall be set at 10 amounts of the AME applicable for the election.
5. A political party that has nominated more than one list of candidates in a municipal elections may additionally spend for the electoral political campaign not more than 10 per cent of the maximum expenditure set out for the lists of candidates nominated by this party.
6. The limit on expenditure of a political organisation which was registered as an independent participant in an electoral political campaign and which has not nominated any candidate or list of candidates shall comprise one AME applicable for an election.
7. When a run-off voting is conducted in the cases set out in this Code, the limit on expenditure of a candidate who participates in the run-off voting shall be increased by 25 per cent.
8. The expenses incurred and liabilities assumed by a campaigner during an electoral political campaign shall be recognised as electoral political campaign expenditure, if such expenses and liabilities are designated for the following purposes:
1) production or distribution of political advertising or any other campaign material through any mass media outlet or in any other public means;
6) communications, meals, accommodation and transport of electoral political campaign volunteers, political organisation’s or candidate’s representatives for the election or election observers;
8) expenses of campaigners under service contracts for holding the electoral political campaign as well as consultation and training within the framework of the electoral political campaign;
9) expenses related to travel of candidates to the constituency (transportation and accommodation expenses);
9. The value of services provided by an analysis centre established by a political party to candidates and/or to lists of candidates nominated by the political party for the purposes of an electoral political campaign shall be recognised as electoral political campaign expenditure of a campaigner.
10. Expenses incurred during an electoral political campaign shall also include the expenditure incurred beyond the electoral political campaign for the purposes set out in paragraph (8), with the exception of points (7) and (9), provided that the things, other assets and services referred to in that paragraph are intended for the electoral political campaign or that the services are obtained during electoral political campaign. Campaigners must notify the abovementioned to the Central Electoral Commission, attaching copies of the documents confirming the expenditure. Where necessary, the Central Electoral Commission may request additional information.
11. The amount of every campaigner’s expenses referred to in paragraph (8), except for points (7) and (9), and paragraphs (9) and (10) may not exceed the limit on expenditure fixed for the participant.
12. The following shall not be regarded as electoral political campaign expenditure:
13. The services referred to in paragraph 8, points (7) and (8) may be provided to campaigners only by citizens of the Republic of Lithuania, other Members States of the European Union or Member Countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, citizens of the States of the European Economic Area (hereinafter: ‘designated states’) as well as legal persons, organisations, and their branches established in designated states, except where one-fourth or more of the voting rights at the meeting of the participants of such a legal person or another organisation belong to other than the designated state or belong to the legal persons established in states other than the designated states and/or to their citizens. Service providers who have concluded contracts with campaigners for the provision of the services referred to in paragraph 8, points (7) and (8) may enlist only the entities that meet the same requirements as the ones that apply to themselves. This requirement shall also apply to providers of the services specified in paragraph 8, points (7) and (8), which were provided before the beginning of an electoral political campaign period but were intended for the electoral political campaign.
14. When evaluating whether the contracts for the provision of the services referred to in paragraph 8, points (7) and (8) have been concluded only with the entities indicated in paragraph 13, the Central Electoral Commission shall obtain the necessary data from state registers, information systems and databases. Legal persons, organisations, and their branches established in another Member State of the European Union, Member Country of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation or State of the European Economic Area, and citizens of the Member States must submit to the Central Electoral Commission an extract from the appropriate register or documents from the competent authorities of the state in which they are established or have their registered office, regarding the incorporation or the registered office.
15. If a campaigner fails to declare within the time limits set out in this Code the amount of electoral political campaign expenditure that would exceed the participant’s spending limit, the Central Electoral Commission shall oblige the campaigner to transfer a sum equal to the amount of the undeclared electoral political campaign expenditure to the state budget within 20 working days, unless the party has been deprived of state budget appropriations due to gross infringements of this Code.
Article 115. Liability of a campaigner for debts
1. Political organisations shall be entitled to pay the arrears exclusively from legal sources of financing; other campaigners shall be entitled to pay the arrears only with own (personal) funds.
2. Arrears of campaigners arising during an electoral political campaign must be settled before the beginning of the next political campaign of a respective election. If a former independent campaigner fails to pay the arrears within the set time limit, upon registering such participant as an independent participant of another electoral political campaign, the maximum permitted amount of expenditure for this electoral political campaign shall be reduced by 25 per cent by the decision of the Central Electoral Commission.
Article 116. Unspent electoral political campaign funds
If a self-nominated candidate has accumulated more funds than were spent to cover the electoral political campaign expenditure, unspent funds must be transferred to the state budget before submitting a report on financing to the Central Electoral Commission. Funds that have not been used for the electoral political campaign of political organisations and candidates nominated by them as well as lists of candidates may be designated only for financing the activities of these political parties.
Article 117. Financial accounting of an electoral political campaign
1. Independent campaigners shall manage financial accounting of an electoral political campaign under the procedure laid down by this Code, other laws and other legal acts governing financial accounting and financial reporting.
2. Financial accounting of an electoral political campaign shall be managed by the treasurer with whom a person seeking to be registered as an independent campaigner must conclude an electoral political campaign assets trust agreement in compliance with the requirements of the Civil Code.
3. An independent campaigner or a person authorised by such participant shall:
Article 118. Electoral political campaign treasurer
1. An electoral political campaign treasurer shall be a natural person who acts on behalf and in the interest of an independent campaigner on the basis of an assets trust agreement and has the rights and duties set out by this Code.
2. Holding the position of a treasurer shall be limited to citizens of the Republic of Lithuania or permanent residents of the Republic of Lithuania, with the exception of the following persons:
4) auditors conducting an independent inspection of a political organisation or an independent participant;
3. The treasurer shall:
1) register the income, expenditure, and financial liabilities assumed as part of financing an electoral political campaign, fill in and sign donation receipts;
2) be responsible for the anonymisation, under the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission, of personal data (personal number, address, telephone number, e-mail address, account number, etc.) in the contracts which are submitted for publication on the website of the Central Electoral Commission;
4) manage and store financial accounting documents of the electoral political campaign until they are submitted to the Central Electoral Commission;
5) control electoral political campaign expenditure and ensure that it remains within the limits set for electoral political campaign expenditure;
4. In the event of a change of the treasurer, a campaigner shall report the change to the Central Electoral Commission no later than within five working days by submitting a copy of the electoral political campaign assets trust agreement and indicating the treasurer’s data published on the website of this Commission.
Article 119. Reports on financing and other documents
1. A report on financing of an electoral political campaign shall be a document in which an independent participant, in accordance with the description of the procedure for filling in and submitting the report on financing approved by the Central Electoral Commission, indicates the donations received for the electoral political campaign or their amounts by groups of donors, as well as other funds used for the political campaign and the expenses incurred and liabilities assumed by expenditure groups.
2. All donations received for an electoral political campaign, including impermissible donations, as well as own (personal) funds used for the electoral political campaign, electoral political campaign expenditure and assumed financial liabilities shall be recorded in the accounting ledger.
3. A report on financing of a representative participant shall be an annex to the accounting ledger which indicates the donations received in the interests of the representative participant, the electoral political campaign expenditure and the assumed financial liabilities of the representative participant.
4. Each independent participant, including persons who have lost the status of a campaigner, shall submit the following documents to the Central Electoral Commission:
2) a report on political advertising in which the political campaigner indicates the political advertising produced and/or disseminated in the participant’s own interest and in the interests of the representative participants, as well as the disseminator (producer), date, quantity and price of the political advertising, and the sources of financing;
3) an accounting ledger and the annex thereto containing a report on the financing of representative participants, if there are any represented participants;
5. Together with the documents referred to in paragraph (4), a campaigner shall submit to the Central Electoral Commission an extract of the electoral political campaign account; an extract of the account of the donations collected by electronic means, where such have been used; a list of the small donations collected under a contract, where such donations have been collected; a list of the donors, containing data allowing for the identification of the donors; the contracts concluded; and the documents substantiating the income and expenditure of the electoral political campaign.
Article 120. Time limits for the provision of data and documents
1. All proceeds and expenditure or assumed financial liabilities of an electoral political campaign shall be entered in the accounting ledger no later than within ten working days, indicating the representative participant(s) on whose behalf the expenditure has been incurred or financial liabilities have been assumed.
2. A campaigner shall submit to the Central Electoral Commission the following documents referred to in Article 119:
1) no later than within 25 days from the publication of the final results of an election, unless an obligation referred to in Article 123(1) arises for an independent participant;
Article 121. Institutions controlling the electoral political campaign financing
1. Electoral political campaign financing shall be controlled by the Central Electoral Commission and other institutions within their remit under the procedure laid down by law.
2. The Central Electoral Commission shall, in accordance with its own procedures, control campaigners for compliance with the requirements of this Code and propose that the participants be held liable for infringements of this Code or refer them to other bodies that are empowered by law to verify compliance with statutory requirements.
3. The Central Electoral Commission shall be responsible for continuously providing information about financial irregularities of electoral political campaigns to the Special Investigation Service of the Republic of Lithuania and to the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Lithuania.
4. The State Tax Inspectorate shall verify whether the donors had sufficient income to make the donations and whether the candidates had sufficient income and funds to finance an electoral political campaign. The State Tax Inspectorate shall notify the Central Electoral Commission about the inspection(s) conducted and the violations of legal acts established in the course thereof.
Article 122. Remit of the Central Electoral Commission in controlling electoral political campaign financing
1. The Central Electoral Commission shall:
3) set limits on electoral political campaign expenditure in specific constituencies and set limits on other amounts provided for in this Code, which are calculated on the basis of the amount of the AMEs applicable to an election, and announce these limits and amounts no later than by 1 January of each year;
5) approve the forms of the following documents: the accounting ledger, the declaration of a producer or disseminator of public information, the report on political advertising, and the description of the procedure for filling in and submitting the said documents;
6) after consultation with the Lithuanian Chamber of Auditors, approve the form of a report on financing;
8) after consultation with the Lithuanian Chamber of Auditors, approve the terms of reference for an audit firm or an auditor conducting an independent inspection of an independent participant, defining the scope of work to be carried out by the auditor;
9) provide software for the transfer of data from the accounting ledger and the declaration of the producer or disseminator of public information as well as the publication of the rates and conditions applied by the producer or disseminator of public information during the electoral political campaign, the reports on financing, and the declarations of the producer or disseminator of public information based on the transferred data;
10) in cooperation with the State Tax Inspectorate, create the conditions for the treasurer to verify in the information system of the Central Electoral Commission whether a donation meets the requirements under paragraphs 5 and 6 of Article 110 and whether the donor has declared the donation. The Central Electoral Commission shall be responsible for the proper functioning of this information system;
11) facilitate prompt publishing of the information on the rates applied by the producers or disseminators of public information during the electoral political campaign, the declarations of the producers or disseminators of public information, the accounting ledgers, the reports on financing, and the reports on political advertising on the website of the Central Electoral Commission as soon as they are received; update their data as soon as the data are received; and be responsible for compliance of the said data with the information received.
2. The Central Electoral Commission shall control the use of the funds allocated for the electoral political campaign and carry out an audit of the use of these funds.
Article 123. Independent inspection of independent participants
1. An independent participant who, during an electoral political campaign, has received income exceeding the amount of 70 AMEs applied to an election, must conclude a contract with an audit firm for an independent examination of an independent participant. The treasurer of an electoral political campaign shall present a copy of the said contract to the Central Electoral Commission no later than within 25 days after the proclamation of the final results of the election/rerun election or the referendum.
2. The Central Electoral Commission shall organise independent examinations of independent participants who have received an income in the amount of 70 AMEs or less during electoral political campaigning. In order to carry out an independent examination of independent participants referred to in this paragraph, the Central Electoral Commission shall have the right to purchase services of audit firms or auditors under the procedure laid down by legal acts.
3. An auditor shall be a natural person holding the title of a certified auditor granted according to the procedure laid down by law. An independent examination may not be carried out by the treasurer a campaigner or a candidate.
4. An auditor:
1) must carry out an independent examination of an independent participant in compliance with the legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania, international standards of the related services and in pursuance of the terms of reference approved by the Central Electoral Commission defining the scope of work assigned to the auditor. The auditor must prepare an auditor’s report on factual findings;
5. An auditor's report of factual findings shall be a document in which an auditor provides results of an independent examination of an independent participant. The report shall be prepared under the procedure laid down by this Code, in compliance with the international standards of the related services and in pursuance of the terms of reference approved by the Central Electoral Commission defining the scope of work assigned to the auditor.
Article 124. Publicity of financing
1. Accounting ledger of independent participants and annexes thereto shall be published on the website of the Central Electoral Commission and updated regularly, while ensuring the protection of personal data.
2. The Central Electoral Commission shall publish on its website all accounting ledgers, contracts concluded with the providers of services and advertising producers, reports on financing together with auditors’ reports on factual findings, if they are mandatory, reports on political advertising, and declarations of producers and disseminators of public information no later than within ten working days from the receipt thereof.
3. Declarations of producers or disseminators of public information, reports on financing, auditors’ reports of factual findings, reports on political advertising, accounting ledgers, contracts of campaigners with service providers, advertising producers, and producers or disseminators of public information shall be public and presented under the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission, ensuring the protection of personal data.
Article 125. Monitoring of political advertising and of financing of electoral political campaigns
1. The monitoring of political advertising and of the financing of electoral political campaigns shall be carried out during the period of an electoral political campaign until the proclamation of the final results of an election.
2. The monitoring of political advertising shall be carried out by the Central Electoral Commission and constituency and municipal electoral committees.
3. The procedure and methods of monitoring of political advertising shall be determined by the Central Electoral Commission.
4. When carrying out the monitoring of political advertising and of the financing of electoral political campaigns, the Central Electoral Commission shall have the right to purchase monitoring services under the procedure laid down by legal acts.
5. The Central Electoral Commission shall constantly publish on its website the summarised data on monitoring of political advertising and of the financing of electoral political campaigns. The controlling authorities must, within their remit, be provided with detailed monitoring data; a campaigner shall be entitled to receive only the monitoring data pertaining to the participant’s electoral political campaign.
6. The Central Electoral Commission shall have the right to request the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania, the Commission of Ethics in the Provision of Information to the Public and the Inspector of Journalist Ethics for the evaluation of the content of disseminated information in the light of political advertising. The Central Electoral Commission shall also have the right to request the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania and the Inspector of Journalist Ethics for the assessment whether the means of manipulating the social media platform accounts have been used during the electoral political campaign.
7. Upon establishing that a campaigner has exceeded the set amount of electoral political campaign expenditure, the Central Electoral Commission shall, by its decision, obligate the campaigner not to assume new property obligations regarding electoral political campaign expenditure, with the exception of a contract with an audit firm or an auditor, provided the independent campaigner incurs an obligation set out in Article 123(1).
8. A campaigner shall have the right to appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania against the adopted decision, referred to in paragraph (7), within seven days of the adoption of such decision. The complaint must be investigated no later than within three days of the receipt thereof. The decision of the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania shall become effective from its pronouncement.
Article 126. Establishment of models for and forms of election documents
1. The Central Electoral Commission shall establish models and forms of poll cards, ballot papers, posters of a candidate in a single-member constituency and lists of candidates in the multi-member constituency containing data about the candidate (candidates), ballot paper envelopes and covering envelopes, other documents, blanks, questionnaires, official envelopes, packets, marks used in an election, as well as the specimens for filling them in, where necessary.
Article 127. Poll cards
1. A poll card shall be an informative invitation to participate at an election. Electoral committees shall organise the delivery of poll cards along with other information about the election.
2. A poll card shall indicate the following data:
1) the name and number of a polling district on whose electoral roll the voter has been entered, and the address of a polling station;
2) the name and number of a constituency to the territory whereof the polling district is allotted, or the name and number of a municipality;
Article 128. Delivery of poll cards
2. The procedure for delivering poll cards to voters who are in healthcare institutions (other than outpatient institutions), social care institutions, military units, arrest houses of territorial police units, places of pre-trial detention and arrest, prisons as well as to voters who have gone abroad shall be laid down in Articles 137 and 145.
3. The distribution of poll cards to voters must be completed in at least eight days before polling day. If several different elections or elections and referendums are concurrently announced during the same period, a poll card may be single.
4. If a voter has not been entered on the electoral roll of a polling district but the voter’s home address is allotted to the territory of this polling district according to data of the Population Register, the polling district electoral committee shall provide an application form, as prescribed by the Central Electoral Commission, to be filled in by the voter in order to be entered on the electoral roll of this polling district (alternately, a member of the polling district electoral committee may fill in this application form; the application form may also be submitted by the voter electronically under the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission) and shall immediately report this to a constituency electoral committee, which must arrange for the voter’s name to be entered on the electoral roll of that polling district on the basis of the said application. A poll card shall be delivered to the voter after updating the electoral rolls.
Article 129. Ballot papers
1. There shall be two following types of ballot papers:
2. A ballot paper must contain the following data:
3. A ballot paper for a single-member constituency shall contain, in alphabetical order, in the same font for each candidate and in equal spacing between the candidates, the full name of each candidate accompanied either by the name of a political organisation or coalition that has nominated the candidate, or the indication ‘a self-nominated candidate’.
4. A ballot paper of a multi-member constituency shall contain the following data:
1) lists of candidates and the names of political organisations or coalitions appearing in their application documents are provided in ascending order of the candidate numbers, in equal spacing between all lists of candidates and in the same font. The ballot paper shall contain the full name of the candidate listed first on the list of candidates, the name of the political organisation or coalition, and a black and white image of the emblem (mark) of the political organisation registered by the said organisation under the procedure laid down by law; in an election to the European Parliament, the ballot paper shall contain the name of the European political party to which the political organisation or coalition relates and an emblem of the European political party, if any;
5. Ballot papers shall be printed aboard the ships sailing under the national flag of Lithuania in accordance with the description transmitted by the Central Electoral Commission electronically. Upon the decision of the Central Electoral Commission, ballot papers may also be printed in diplomatic missions, consular posts and military missions of the Republic of Lithuania abroad according to the description transmitted electronically.
Article 130. Production, delivery and accounting of election documents
1. The Central Electoral Commission shall be responsible for the publishing of election documents and their delivery within the time limits specified in the Code. The procedure for accounting for ballot papers, special labels and voting envelopes shall be laid down by the Central Electoral Commission, which shall also manage this accounting.
2. Constituency and municipal electoral committees shall deliver ballot papers, voting envelopes and special labels to the polling district electoral committees least 12 hours before the poll on polling day or before the poll in declared polling places and at home.
3. At the diplomatic missions and consular posts of the Republic of Lithuania, voters must be provided with free access to ballot papers and voting envelopes at least 20 days before polling day. Aboard the ships sailing under the national flag of Lithuania, voters must be provided with free access to the text of ballot papers not less than 15 days before polling day.
4. Accounting of voting envelopes, special labels and ballot papers, their issuing and acceptance when voting at home and at declared polling places shall be managed by the chairs of the polling district electoral committees. Accounting for, issue and acceptance of voting envelopes and ballot papers used when voting in military units deployed abroad shall be managed by the commanders of the said units. The commanders of the military units shall transfer to the Central Electoral Commission the accounting data on election documents, as well as the unused covering envelopes, ballot papers, and covering envelopes with the completed ballot papers. The Central Electoral Commission shall, no later than polling day, forward the received voting envelopes with the ballot papers marked by voters to the electoral committees of the respective constituencies or municipalities on whose electoral rolls the voters concerned are entered.
5. Postal service providers shall deliver voting envelopes containing the ballot papers marked by the voters to the constituency or municipal electoral committees on polling day, but no later than by 11 am, and the constituency or municipal electoral committees shall forward them to the respective polling district electoral committees before the close of poll.
6. The covering envelopes as well as unused and spoilt ballot papers of the voters who voted on the last Thursday before polling day shall be transferred to a constituency electoral committee or a municipal electoral committee by the members of the electoral committees who appeared at the homes of the voters pursuant to the provisions of Article 138. The constituency electoral committee or the municipal electoral committee shall, no later than on the last Friday before polling day, deliver the covering envelopes to the postal service providers.
7. The covering envelopes as well as unused and spoilt ballot papers of the voters who voted on the last Friday or Saturday before polling day shall be transferred to the chair of a polling district electoral committee no later than by 9 pm of the same day. After examining the received election documents, the polling district electoral committee shall decide whether or not voting at home has met the requirements of this Code.
Article 131. Setting-up of polling stations and assistance in holding elections
1. State and municipal institutions, agencies and enterprises must assist electoral committees in exercising their powers and provide the information necessary for the performance of their functions. The municipal administration must provide electoral committees with suitable polling places, polling stations, equipment, computer equipment and Internet connection for the preparation and conduct of an election.
2. In view of the need for polling stations adapted for voters with disabilities in a specific polling district, the municipal administration, no later than within 20 days from the announcement of the date of poll,must evaluate whether the polling stations are suitable and adapted to the needs of voters with disabilities or elderly voters. If it determines that the polling stations are not suitable, the municipal administration must adapt them to the said needs or rent the premises already adapted to such needs. Within not less than two months before polling day, the electoral committee shall additionally evaluate the suitability of the polling stations in cooperation with the municipal administration. Non-governmental organisations may also be involved in the evaluation of the suitability of the polling stations. The Central Electoral Commission shall lay down a procedure for evaluating the suitability of polling stations and for involving non-governmental organisations in the process.
3. The polling station of a polling district must contain the following facilities:
3) a secret polling booth. The polling booth must contain campaigning information or instructions for voters’ notices on filling in ballot papers, issued by the Central Electoral Commission as well as the lists of candidates furnished with election numbers;
4) lists of candidates furnished with election numbers. Campaigning or voter information material, issued by the Central Electoral Commission, may also be displayed;
4. Any campaigning or voter information material other than the material issued by the Central Electoral Commission must be removed from the polling station, the passageways leading to or out of it (corridors) and within the radius of 50 metres around the building which houses the polling station.
5. The polling station of a polling district must be set up for an election no later than 12 hours before the opening of the poll.
Article 132. Expenditure related to preparation and conduct of elections
1. Expenditure related to the preparation and conduct of elections shall be covered from the state and municipal budgets.
2. The costs of electoral committees related to the organisation and conduct of elections, the work of members of the electoral committees and the staff servicing the said committees, as well as the costs of the adaptation of ballot papers and other election material set out by the Central Electoral Commission to the needs of voters with disabilities shall be covered from the state budget.
3. The Government shall allocate funds for early elections, as well as for rerun elections, where funds have not been provided for them for in the state budget and appropriations have not been allocated to the Central Electoral Commission in the state budget.
4. Costs of organisation of a poll at healthcare institutions (other than outpatient institutions), social care institutions, military units, arrest houses of territorial police units, places of pre-trial detention and arrest, and prisons shall be covered from the state budget.
5. Maintenance of polling stations and the headquarters of constituency electoral committees, municipal electoral committees and polling district electoral committees, the acquisition and maintenance of the equipment set out by the Central Electoral Commission, the setting-up of polling stations and their adaptation to the needs of voters with disabilities and the rent of suitable premises in the absence of any possibility to properly set up the polling stations or to adapt them to the needs of voters with disabilities shall be covered from municipal budgets.
6. The Central Electoral Commission shall have the right to use the savings from the state budget funds allocated for organising elections and referendums for the purchase of equipment intended for setting up polling stations. under the procedure laid down by legal acts, the Commission may subsequently transfer the said equipment, by the right of trust, to municipalities for management, use and disposal.
Article 133. Allocation, use and accounting of funds for the preparation of elections
1. The Central Electoral Commission shall transfer the funds of the state budget allocated to constituency electoral committees and municipal electoral committees for the preparation of elections to the bank account opened by the Central Electoral Commission for each constituency electoral committee or municipal electoral committee.
2. The Chair of the Central Electoral Commission shall sign a contract for the use of the funds of the state budget with the chair of a constituency electoral committee or the chair of a municipal electoral committee, specifying the following details:
1) the amount of budget funds transferred to the constituency electoral committee or the municipal electoral committee and the programme of the Central Electoral Commission under which these funds are allocated;
3) the planned detailed distribution of the funds of the state budget by economic purpose of expenditure, and the calculation of remuneration costs (appended to the contract);
4) the procedure for accounting to the Central Electoral Commission for the use of the funds from the state budget (indicating the economic purpose of expenditure) and the procedure for submitting the financial accounting documents justifying the use of the funds;
3. The Central Electoral Commission shall transfer state budget funds for preparation of an election to the accounts referred in paragraph (1) in line with the estimates approved by the Central Electoral Commission for the constituency electoral committees and the municipal electoral committees.
4. The chair of a constituency electoral committee or a municipal electoral committee shall oversee the use of the state budget funds allocated to the constituency electoral committee or the municipal electoral committee for the preparation of an election and shall account to the Central Electoral Commission for their use.
5. The Central Electoral Commission shall verify the report on the use of state budget funds for the preparation of an election and examine the supporting documents presented by the chair of a constituency electoral committee or the chair of a municipal electoral committee. In the event of irregularities in financing, use of funds or accounting, the Central Electoral Commission shall initiate the recovery of damages from those responsible. The chair of the constituency electoral committee or the chair of the municipal electoral committee shall remain liable for the damages inflicted during the period of validity of the contract for the use of the state budget funds even after the expiration of the contract.
6. The Central Electoral Commission shall enjoy the right to conclude employment contracts with employees for ancillary work related to the preparation of elections. These employment contracts shall be signed by the chair of a constituency electoral committee or a municipal electoral committee authorised by the Chair of the Central Electoral Commission. The remuneration for these employees shall be determined in fixed-term employment contracts in accordance with the statutory rates of pay.
Article 134. General provisions
1. under the procedure laid down by this Code, pre-poll voting shall be organised for voters who are unable to arrive and vote on polling day at the polling districts on whose electoral rolls they have been entered and to vote therein.
2. Pre-poll voting shall be organised on the following premises:
1) in the building of the municipality or/and other premises suitable for voting and agreed with the municipal administration;
3. In the places referred in paragraph 2, point (1), voting shall be conducted from 7a.m. to 8p.m. on the last Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday before polling day.
4. In the places referred to in paragraph (2), point (2)(a), (b), (c) and (d), voting shall be conducted at the time set by the heads of these institutions on the last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday before polling day.
5. Voting at home shall be conducted from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on the last Friday and Saturday before polling day. Voting at home by voters who reside or are temporarily staying within the territory of a particular polling district but who are entered on the electoral rolls of another polling district and have not been entered on the electoral roll of this polling district when revising them shall be conducted from 8a.m. to 8p.m. on the last Thursday before polling day.
6. A specific polling location (premises) that meets the requirements of the Central Electoral Commission and where voters can vote must be set up in the places referred to in paragraph (2), point (2)(a), (b), (c) and (d). The head of the institution in which the voting is conducted shall be responsible for setting up such specific polling location (premises).
Article 135. Pre-poll voting procedure and documents
1. Under the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission, for the purposes of implementing the electronic marking of voters who voted in pre-poll voting, a pre-poll voting form shall be used. A pre-poll voting form shall be a document which an electoral committee or the head of a body in charge of a declared polling place (or a person authorised by them) prints out from the information system of the Central Electoral Commission for voters voting on other than polling day. A pre-poll voting form shall be obligatory when voting in pre-poll voting. This form shall consist of three parts. The first part shall contain information about each voter and the election documents issued to them. After the vote, the said part shall be stored at the electoral committee. The second part shall constitute a receipt confirming the acceptance of a filled-in covering envelope. The receipt shall be issued to the voter on the presentation of the covering envelope, which is sealed after the vote has been cast. The third part shall be a poll card handed to the voter together with the election documents; when voting, the voter shall put the said poll card into the covering envelope. The poll card shall specify the voter’s full name; the name and number of the polling district on whose electoral roll the voter has been entered; the address and number of the constituency or municipality; the address of the polling station; and the voter’s successive number on the electoral roll of the polling district.
2. Members of an electoral committee who are appointed to work at pre-poll voting by the chair of that committee shall issue election documents to a voter under the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission. Together with the ballot paper(s), the voter shall be issued with voting envelopes. A member of the polling district electoral committee shall fill in the covering envelope with an address of the polling district electoral committee indicated in the poll card.
3. While voting in pre-poll voting, voters shall:
4. Each voter shall hand the sealed covering envelope containing the poll card and the ballot paper envelope with the ballot paper(s) inside to the electoral committee member who issued them with the election documents. After receiving the envelope handed in by the voter, the said committee member shall stamp the envelope with a special mark in the voter’s presence and give the voter a receipt confirming the acceptance of the envelope.
5. The electoral committee member who has issued the election documents shall indicate in the electronic electoral roll that the voter has voted and specify the number of the special mark stamped on the envelope.
6. The steps referred to in paragraphs (3) and (4) shall be carried out by the voters themselves. Conditions must be created for voters with disabilities to make use of ancillary means and technologies when voting. If any voters are unable to carry out the steps referred to in paragraphs (3) and (4) themselves, because of their disability, these steps shall, at their request, be carried out by a person of their choice. This person must, in the presence of the voter, mark the ballot-paper(s) according to their instructions and carry out the steps referred to in paragraphs (3) and (4). The person chosen by the voter must preserve the secrecy of vote of the voter who has engaged that person.
7. Election observers and electoral committee members shall be prohibited to carry out the steps referred to in paragraphs (3) and (4) on behalf of voters, from accepting unsealed covering envelopes from voters and from issuing election documents to voters in the places and to persons other than those provided for in this Code. Voters shall be prohibited to take ballot papers and voting envelopes from the polling places or to hand them over to other persons.
8. The Central Electoral Commission shall use the services of postal service providers for the transfer to the voters’ constituencies of the filled-in voting envelopes of voters who have voted in pre-poll voting in other constituencies.
9. The chair of the constituency electoral committee or of the municipal electoral committee shall, under the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission, hand over to the postal service providers the voting envelopes filled in by the voters at a declared polling place.
10. The electoral committees in charge of organising the poll shall include the electoral rolls of voters who have voted in pre-poll voting and the unused ballot papers into the accounting and store them. After the elections, the said electoral committees shall transfer the said registers and unused ballot papers accompanied by other election documents to the appropriate constituency electoral committee, municipal electoral committee, or the Central Electoral Commission.
Article 136. Voting in a building of a municipality or/and other premises suitable for voting and agreed with the municipal administration
Voting in a building of a municipality or/and other premises suitable for voting and agreed with the municipal administration shall be organised by the constituency electoral committee or the municipal electoral committee. If a constituency comprises the territories of several municipalities, the voting shall be organised in the said municipalities. The chair of a constituency electoral committee or a municipal electoral committee shall appoint at least two members of the said constituency electoral committee, municipal electoral committee, or polling district committees to issue and collect ballot papers and voting envelopes. The said two persons may not be proposed by the same political organisation. The voting shall be supervised by the chair of the constituency electoral committee or of the municipal electoral committee or, on their instruction, by a member of the constituency electoral committee or of the municipal electoral committee. If the Chair of the Central Electoral Commission, a member of the Commission authorised by the Chair, or the chair of a constituency electoral committee or of the municipal electoral committee establishes, under the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission, any cases of bribery of voters, conveyance of voters to vote, encouragement to vote for remuneration or other gross violations of the voter’s rights, they must suspend pre-poll voting until the violations are removed and it is possible to conduct free and democratic elections in accordance with the requirements of this Code.
Article 137. Organisation of a poll at declared polling places
1. Voting eligible for voting at declared polling places shall consist of voters who, due to their health condition or age, are in healthcare institutions (other than outpatient institutions), social care institutions or in compulsory military service and therefore are unable to arrive to vote at the polling district, or are in active military service, civil service, work under employment contracts in international military operations abroad, or voters who are placed on remand or who are serving a detention or custodial sentence or are in arrest houses of territorial police units.
2. Organisation of a poll at declared polling places shall be the responsibility of the chair of the electoral committee of the constituency or of the municipality within the territory of which that declared polling place is situated. The said chair, together with the chairs of the polling district electoral committees assigned by the constituency electoral committee or the municipal electoral committee, shall coordinate the involvement of members of the electoral committees in overseeing the voting process at declared polling places. Voting in military units deployed abroad shall be conducted on the recommendation of the Minister of National Defence under the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission. Commanders of the military units deployed abroad shall be in charge of organising a poll in those military units.
3. On the recommendation of the heads of the institutions referred to in paragraph (1), a constituency electoral committee or a municipal electoral committee shall, no later than 15 days before polling day, draw up a list of declared polling places and set their working hours to ensure that their polling days align with the requirements set out in Article 134(4).
4. The heads of the institutions referred to in paragraph (1) shall compile registers of voters voting at the declared polling places. The said registers must contain each voter’s full name and personal number. The head of the institution shall transfer the roll of voters voting at a declared polling place to the respective constituency electoral committee or municipal electoral committee, receive pre-poll voting forms from that body or print them out based on the data received electronically; and ensure that the said forms are distributed to voters; designate suitable premises for voting; and be responsible for informing voters of the venue and the working hours of the declared polling place and for ensuring that voters have access to it.
5. Voters without motor disorders shall vote under the procedure laid down in paragraphs 4 and 6 of Article 135. Voters with reduced mobility shall be visited by at least two members of a polling district electoral committee and election observers, if desired by the voters.
Article 138. Organisation of a poll at home
1. Only the following persons may vote at home: voters with disabilities, persons providing nursing care (assistance) for persons with disabilities at home, voters with temporary working incapacity due to illness, and voters aged 70 and over who are unable to turn out at the polling district on polling day because of their health condition, provided they have submitted a voter’s request of the form set out by the Central Electoral Commission for voting at home and have been entered on the home voting electoral roll. Voters who are in self-isolation because of the circumstances specified in Article 139(3) and who have submitted a voter’s request of the form set out by the Central Electoral Commission for voting at home may vote at home. Electoral committee members, when distributing poll cards, must hand them personally to those voters who are entitled to vote at home, except for the voters who are in self-isolation.
2. Requests for voting at home from voters, except for the voters who are in self-isolation, shall be submitted to polling district electoral committees. Requests for voting at home from voters entered on the electoral roll of a polling district shall start being accepted by telephone, via electronic mail and written applications at the time when the voters are served with poll cards and shall end on the last Wednesday before polling day. The requests for voting at home from voters who are temporarily staying on the territory of a certain polling district but have not been entered on the electoral roll of that polling district shall be accepted until the last Tuesday before polling day. The voters who are unable to complete a request for voting at home or to hand it to a polling district electoral committee because of their disability may authorise their family member, neighbour, a caretaker, or a committee member to carry out the said steps on their behalf. The latter authorised persons shall sign the voter’s request and indicate their full name and personal number therein.
3. Requests of voters in self-isolation to vote at home shall be submitted under the procedure and within the time limits laid down by the Central Electoral Commission. Voting of voters in self-isolation shall be organised by a specific group of electoral committee members set up by the constituency electoral committee or the municipal electoral committee, which consists of at least two members of that constituency electoral committee, municipal electoral committee or electoral committee of this constituency, municipal electoral committee(s).
4. On the last Thursday before polling day, a polling district electoral committee shall draw up and approve a home voting electoral roll of voter who have been entered on the electoral roll of that polling district. On the last Wednesday before polling day, a constituency electoral committee or a municipal electoral committee shall draw up and approve a roll of voters who reside or are temporarily staying on the territory of a certain polling district but have been entered on the electoral roll of another polling district instead of being entered on the electoral roll of this polling district when updating it.
5. At least two members of the polling district committee shall, within the time limits set out in Article 134(5), deliver the covering envelopes and ballot papers to the homes of the voters voting at home who are voters of the polling district concerned and are entered on the electoral roll of voters of that polling district.
6. At least two members of the constituency electoral committee or municipal electoral committee, or, on the instruction of the chair of the said committee, at least two members of the polling district electoral committee shall, within the time-limit set out in Article 134 (5), deliver the voting envelopes and ballot papers to the homes of the voters voting at home who are entered on the electoral roll of voters of the constituency or municipality concerned who vote at home, but are not entered on the electoral roll of voters of the polling district of their temporary stay. After the close of poll, the sealed covering envelopes shall be transferred to the constituency electoral committee or the municipal electoral committee.
7. The schedule of arrivals of electoral committee members to voter homes shall be approved by the chair of a polling district electoral committee, of a constituency electoral committee, or of a municipal electoral committee no later than 12 a.m. on the last Wednesday or Thursday before polling day. This schedule shall be public. Its copy shall be posted on the billboard of the polling district electoral committee, of the constituency electoral committee, or of the municipal electoral committee on the day the schedule is approved. The schedules shall also be published on the website of the Central Electoral Commission. Only the electoral committee members and election observers proposed by different political organisations may visit the homes of the voters who vote at home.
Article 139. Venue and time of voting on polling day
1. Voters shall vote under the procedure laid down by this Code vote in the polling districts on whose electoral rolls they has been entered, unless this Code provides otherwise.
2. On polling day, voting shall take place in polling stations of polling districts from 7a.m. to 8 p.m.
3. When a state of emergency is introduced in all or part of the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, an emergency is declared under the procedure laid down by law, quarantine is declared in the cases and under the procedure laid down by law, the freedom of movement of persons is temporarily restricted, or other restrictions are established and when there are grounds to believe that due to restricting voters’ access to vote there is no possibility to hold a regular election or that the preparation and conduct of an election may be threatened, voters voting in polling stations must be provided with the necessary safety precautions. In such circumstances, by decision of the Central Electoral Commission, voting on polling day in a polling district where the number of voters entered on the electoral roll exceeds 3 000 may take place in that polling district in additionally set-up premises which have been made suitable for voting. Additional polling stations, additional polling booths and an additional ballot box must be provided (rented) by the municipal administration under the procedure laid down by this Code within seven working days from the entry into force of the decision of the Central Electoral Commission. The Central Electoral Commission must take this decision no later than 15 working days prior to the election. The Central Electoral Commission shall lay down the procedure for informing voters entered on the electoral roll of a polling district about the possibility to vote in the additional polling station; the procedure to be followed by the electoral committee for affixing the seal to the additional ballot box; and the procedure for organising the poll and conducting the accounting for and counting of the ballot papers.
Article 140. Prohibition on holding other events in a polling station
1. No events other than the organisation of an election and a poll may be held in a polling station, passageways (corridors) leading to the polling station, and at the entrance to the building that houses the polling station.
2. An exception may be applied to events within a building, provided that the said building meets all of the following conditions:
2) access to events other than the poll is provided through a separate entrance which is not on the same side of the building as the entrance to the polling station;
3) there is no direct access from the polling station to other premises hosting events unrelated to the polling process;
Article 141. Preparation for a poll
1. Prior to opening a polling station for voters, the polling district electoral committee shall carry out the following steps:
1) enter the number of ballot papers received by this polling district electoral committee from both the constituency electoral committee and the municipal electoral committee on the vote counting record of the polling district;
2. On polling day, a polling station shall be opened to voters only when at least three-fifths of the members of the polling district electoral committee have convened. Before opening the polling station, the chair of the electoral committee together with the committee members shall check whether the ballot box is empty, affix the seal to it and open the polling station for voters, thus announcing the commencement of the poll.
Article 142. Voting procedure
1. A voter who has turned out to vote shall present one of the following valid documents to a member of the polling district committee: an identity card, a passport, a driving licence or any other identity proof issued by a state institution or a body authorised by it.
2. After confirming the identity of the person, the member of the polling district committee shall verify whether the voter entered on the electoral roll of the respective polling district, and shall mark in the electronic electoral roll that the voter has participated in the polling process. If, upon arriving at the polling station, a person has required documents or it remains uncertain whether they are entered on the electoral roll of the respective polling district, the committee member shall refrain from issuing an arrival card to this person. Instead, the person shall be issued a guest card and referred to the committee chair or deputy chair for clarification of their voting status.
3. On polling day, voters who have not voted yet may, under the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission, vote in another polling district of their constituency or municipality, given all the polling districts of that constituency or municipality have access to electronic electoral roll, provided the polling district electoral committees can confirm that the voter has not voted in any of the polling districts, and provided the electoral committee of the polling district on whose electoral roll the said voter is entered confirms that an entry has been made in the electoral roll of this polling district that the said voter has turned out to vote at another polling district and the voter’s vote, if received by a voting envelope, will not be counted.
4. After marking in the electronic electoral roll that a voter has turned out to vote, a member of the polling district committee shall issue the voter with an arrival card stamped with the seal of the polling district. The arrival card shall indicate the sequential number assigned to the voter among all the voters who have participated in the polling process. The said member of the polling district committee shall tell the voter which member of the electoral committee should be addressed for getting the ballot papers. It shall be prohibited to hand multiple arrival cards to a single voter or to provide a voter with another voter’s arrival card.
5. After verifying, either through the presented documents or written testimony addressed to the chair of the electoral committee by two other persons entered on the electoral roll of the same polling district, that the person who has turned out to vote is in fact the person entered on the electoral roll of that polling district, the designated member of the polling district electoral committee responsible for distributing ballot papers to voters shall find the surname of the voter on the electoral roll and collect the arrival card from the individual concerned. The voter shall receive the ballot paper(s) after the voter and the designated member of the electoral committee responsible for distributing the ballot papers to voters sign in the electoral roll of the polling district. The arrival card shall not be returned to the voter. Every voter may receive only the ballot paper(s) that are intended for that particular voter, with the exception of the case provided for in Article 143(4).
6. The ballot paper(s) shall be completed in the secret polling booth. Completing ballot papers outside the secret polling booth shall be prohibited. Only one person may be present in a secret polling booth, with the exception of the case provided for in Article 143(4).
Article 143. Completion of ballot papers
1. When completing a ballot paper(s), voters shall:
2. If there are more than five candidates on the list of candidates for which the voter votes, the voter may fill in all five boxes; if there are five candidates on the list of candidates, the voter shall fill in not more than four boxes; if there are four candidates on the list of candidates, the voter shall fill in not more than three boxes; if there are three candidates on the list of candidates, the voter shall fill in not more than two boxes; and if there are two candidates on the list of candidates, the voter shall fill in not more than one box.
3. The boxes designated for preference votes shall have the same right of preference for candidates irrespective of the number of the box.
4. Conditions must be created for voters with disabilities to make use of ancillary means and technologies when voting. If voters cannot carry out the steps referred to in this Article independently due to disability, their ballot papers shall be filled in by a person of their choice at their request. This person must fill in the ballot papers in the voters’ presence under their instructions, preserve the secrecy of voting and put the ballot papers into the ballot box in the voters’ presence.
5. Committee members, election observers and election representatives shall be prohibited to carry out any voting-related actions for voters with disabilities.
6. If voters spoil the ballot papers and return them to the members of the polling district electoral committee assigned to issue ballot papers to voters, the spoilt ballot papers may be replaced by new ballot papers.
Article 144. Organisation of a poll in foreign countries
1. Voters travelling or living abroad shall be entitled vote in elections to the Seimas, presidential elections and elections to the European Parliament in a diplomatic mission or a consular post of the Republic of Lithuania, additional polling places located abroad under diplomatic missions, consular posts of the Republic of Lithuania, and aboard the ships flying the national flag of Lithuania.
2. The Central Electoral Commission shall lay down the procedure for organising a poll, vote counting and submitting records to the Commission as well as the procedure for issuing certificates to election observers.
Article 145. Organisation of a poll in diplomatic missions, consular posts of the Republic of Lithuania, and in additional polling places located abroad under diplomatic missions or consular posts of the Republic of Lithuania
1. Voting at a diplomatic mission or a consular post of the Republic of Lithuania shall take place during the working hours of these bodies. Not less than four hours must be allotted for voting during a working day of the said bodies. Voting in an additional polling place located abroad under a diplomatic mission or a consular post of the Republic of Lithuania shall take place during the hours set by the diplomatic mission or consular post concerned. On polling day, the close of poll shall be no later than at 8 p.m. (Republic of Lithuania time).
2. The Central Electoral Commission shall, on the recommendation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, draw up a list of diplomatic missions and consular posts of the Republic of Lithuania and additional polling places located abroad under diplomatic missions and consular posts of the Republic of Lithuania in which voting shall take place and shall set at least three polling days for each diplomatic mission or consular post of the Republic of Lithuania.
3. Election documents shall be delivered to voters who have communicated their home address to a diplomatic mission or a consular post of the Republic of Lithuania, or, at the voters’ request, shall be sent by post and accepted from these voters in person by voting commissions set up by a diplomatic mission or consular post of the Republic of Lithuania.
4. Voters arriving to vote at a diplomatic mission, a consular post of the Republic of Lithuania, or an additional polling place located abroad under the diplomatic mission or the consular post of the Republic of Lithuania shall be prohibited to take the election documents from the polling location or hand them over to other persons.
5. The head of a diplomatic mission or a consular post of the Republic of Lithuania shall be responsible for the organisation of the poll, for the submission to the Central Electoral Commission of the records and other election documents specified by the Commission received at that diplomatic mission or consular post of the Republic of Lithuania as well as at the additional polling place located abroad under the diplomatic mission or the consular post of the Republic of Lithuania.
6. In the event of a situation in a foreign state which makes it impossible to vote in a diplomatic mission or a consular post of the Republic of Lithuania situated in that state or in additional polling places located abroad under the diplomatic mission or the consular post of the Republic of Lithuania, voting in that foreign state shall, on the reasoned proposal of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and by decision of the Central Electoral Commission, be organised by sending to a voter a ballot paper(s) to voters by post.
7. The head of a diplomatic mission or a consular post of the Republic of Lithuania or the Minister of Foreign Affairs may, having coordinated it with the Central Electoral Commission, send to the diplomatic mission, the consular post of the Republic of Lithuania, or the additional polling place located abroad under the diplomatic mission or the consular post of the Republic of Lithuania designated members of the voting commission, namely, employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the diplomatic missions or the consular posts of the Republic of Lithuania, for organising the poll there. In this case, the expenses related to the organisation of the poll shall be covered from the state budget funds allocated to the Central Electoral Commission for the preparation and conduct of polls in accordance with the agreement on the use of the state budget funds for the preparation of polls concluded by the Commission with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Article 146. Organisation of a poll aboard the ships sailing under the national flag of Lithuania
1. Voters (ship’s crew and passengers) who are aboard a ship sailing under the national flag of Lithuania shall be entitled to vote aboard that ship, provided they have left a port of the Republic of Lithuania at least four days before polling day and have not returned until polling day, or provided there are other circumstances preventing them from voting in pre-poll voting or voting on poll day in their polling district, or in a diplomatic mission, a consular post of the Republic of Lithuania, or in an additional polling place located abroad under the diplomatic mission or the consular post of the Republic of Lithuania.
2. Voting aboard a ship sailing under the national flag of Lithuania, wherein the master of the ship is a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania and at least five crew members are eligible to vote, shall be organised under the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission. The list of such ships shall be compiled by the Central Electoral Commission on the recommendation of the Minister of Transport and Communications.
3. On the recommendation of the Minister of Transport and Communications, the Central Electoral Commission shall set the time for voting aboard a ship within which each voter aboard the ship shall be given the opportunity to vote. A poll shall not be organised aboard the ships on which the conditions for organising the poll in accordance with the requirements of this Code do not exist.
Article 147. Announcement of the close of poll and preparation for counting ballot papers
1. Upon the expiration of the voting time, the polling station shall be closed. If there are still voters in the polling station, they shall be allowed to finish voting.
2. After all the voters present in the polling station have voted, the chair of the polling district electoral committee shall close the polling station, announce the close of poll and seal and stamp the slot of the ballot box.
3. Once the ballot papers are ready for counting, unused ballot papers and arrival cards shall be collected from each member of the polling district electoral committee. The said ballot papers and arrival cards shall be counted and the number shall be entered in the vote counting record of the polling district.
Article 148. Organisation of counting of votes of a polling district electoral committee
1. The chairs of each polling district electoral committee or their deputies shall organise and supervise the counting of votes in the district electoral committee. Their lawful instructions concerning the counting of votes shall be obligatory to all persons participating in the count of the votes.
2. The chair of the polling district electoral committee shall have the right to warn any person present in the polling station who interferes with the work of the committee, or to warn any members of the committee who fail to perform their duties properly. A notice of such a warning shall be entered in the vote counting record of the polling district. A person who has been warned yet fails to comply with the demands of the chair of the polling district electoral committee may be expelled from the polling station.
Article 149. Order of counting of votes in a polling district electoral committee
When counting votes in the polling station of a polling district under the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission, the polling district electoral committee shall:
1) count the ballot papers received and used in the polling district, verify whether all the ballot papers have been issued against signature and whether all the covering envelopes of the voters who voted in pre-poll voting have been counted;
2) count the votes cast on polling day for candidates in the single-member constituency and/or the lists of candidates in the multi-member constituency;
3) count the votes cast in pre-poll voting for the candidates in the single-member constituency and/or the lists of candidates in the multi-member constituency;
4) in the event of voting in the multi-member constituency, count the preference votes received by the candidates entered on the lists of candidates;
Article 150. Accounting for ballot papers in a polling district
1. A polling district electoral committee shall count the ballot papers in the presence of at least three-fifths of all the members of the committee in question. All persons present in the polling station shall be familiarised with the procedure for counting ballot papers.
2. The number of voters of the polling district shall be determined according to the electoral roll of that polling district. The number of the voters who have been issued with ballot papers shall be determined according to the voters' signatures in the electoral roll of the polling district confirming the receipt of the ballot papers.
3. The number of ballot papers issued to the voters shall be determined on the basis of the voters’ signatures on the electoral roll of the polling station as well as on the basis of the arrival cards.
4. It shall be determined how many ballot papers have been received by each member of the polling district electoral committee and how many out of them have been used, by determining the number of ballot papers issued by each member of the polling district electoral committee to the voters, the number of ballot papers spoilt by the voters and returned for replacement ballot papers, as well as the number of unused ballot papers.
5. The polling district electoral committee shall count the unused and spoilt ballot papers, cancel them by cutting off the upper right corner, put them into the designated packets assigned for this purpose and seal these packets.
6. The number of unused and spoilt ballot papers, missing ballot papers, and surplus of the found ballot papers shall be entered in the vote counting record of the polling district. The records shall be accompanied by explanations of any discrepancy between the numbers of ballot papers, if any discrepancy is detected between the numbers of ballot papers.
Article 151. Determination of the number of voters in the polling district
1. The number of the voters who have voted in the polling station of a polling district shall be determined according to the number of the ballot papers found in the ballot box of the polling district.
Article 152. Counting of ballot papers found in the ballot box
1. A polling district electoral committee shall inspect the ballot box, checking if the seals are intact and if there are no other indications that the ballot box may have been opened or that it would otherwise have been possible to remove the ballot papers from it.
2. Having ascertained that the ballot box and the seals have not been tampered with, the ballot box shall be opened.
3. If there are signs of tampering with the ballot box with before the close of poll, the polling district electoral committee shall, by a majority vote of at least three-fifths of all its members, take a decision concerning the tampering of the ballot box, draw up a report on the tampering of the ballot box and note this in the vote counting record. This shall be immediately reported to the constituency electoral committee or the municipal electoral committee so that the latter would take a decision on the counting of the ballot papers contained in this ballot box.
4. The constituency electoral committee or the municipal electoral committee, having been notified about the ballot box which was tampered with and having evaluated all the circumstances, shall, by a three-fifths majority of all its members, take one of the following decisions:
5. The polling district electoral committee shall sort the ballot papers into the following groups:
6. The polling district electoral committee shall, taking into consideration the grounds specified in Article 156, decide on the allegedly invalid ballot papers, that is, the ballot papers in respect of which there are doubts as to the validity of the ballot paper, the marks or the absence of marks on the ballot paper, and the clarity of the voter’s will. The chair of the polling district electoral committee shall present each such ballot paper to the members of that committee and shall announce a voting concerning the ballot paper’s recognition as valid or invalid. The results of this voting shall be recorded on the reverse side of the ballot paper.
Article 153. Counting of votes cast in a polling district on polling day
1. Valid ballot papers shall be sorted in accordance with the marks made by voters for a candidate or a list of candidates.
2. All ballot papers must be recounted at least twice. The second and subsequent recounts of the ballot papers must be carried out by other members of the polling district electoral committee.
3. After counting the ballot papers in each group, the number of votes cast by the voters for the lists of candidates and the candidates as well as the number of invalid ballot papers shall be determined.
4. The polling district electoral committee must recount the ballot papers once if at least one committee member or election observer requests so before the signing of the vote counting records of the polling district.
5. The data counted by the polling district electoral committee and entered in the vote counting record of the polling district must be made publicly available in the polling station under the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission.
7. The counting of votes of the voters of that polling district who voted in the pre-poll voting shall begin once the polling district electoral committee has completed the counting of votes from those who voted at the polling station of that polling district and has entered them in the vote counting record of that polling district.
Article 154. Accounting of envelopes of voters who have voted in pre-poll voting
1. Before starting to count the votes of the voters who have voted in pre-poll voting, the covering envelopes received from the constituency electoral committee or the municipal electoral committee shall be put together and mixed with the covering envelopes of the voters who have voted at home.
2. Counting of the covering envelopes received from the voters who voted at the polling station of the polling district in pre-poll voting shall proceed as follows:
1) according to the submitted data, the number of envelopes received is checked against the number of the voters who have voted in pre-poll voting;
2) the chair of the polling district electoral committee produces, unopened, all the received covering envelopes. Their number shall be announced and entered in the vote counting record of the polling district;
3) covering envelopes are opened one by one, a poll card is taken out of the covering envelope, the voter’s surname is read out loud and checked against the electoral roll of the polling district or against the data of the electoral roll, if the polling districts has access the electronic electoral roll;
4) the ballot paper envelope is stamped with a mark of the polling district. The marked ballot paper envelope is placed into the ballot box set up and marked according to the established requirements. If the person on the poll card is not on the electoral roll, if the electoral roll bears a voter’s signature indicating that the voter has already voted in the polling district, if there is an entry indicating that the voter has voted in another polling district, if another voting envelope has been received from the same voter, if there is no poll card in the covering envelope, or if there is more than one ballot paper envelope in the covering envelope, the ballot paper envelope shall be left unstamped and unopened. Then, the ballot paper envelope shall be crossed through and the ballot paper in this envelope shall not be counted towards the sum of votes in the vote counting record of the polling district.
Article 155. Marking of ballot paper envelopes and counting of ballot papers received in ballot paper envelopes
1. In the electoral roll of a polling district, the words ‘balsavo vokais’ (meaning, voted by the envelopes) or the acronym ‘BV’ shall be entered against the surname of a voter whose vote is received in the ballot paper envelope, while in the electronic electoral roll of the polling districts that have access to the electronic electoral roll shall indicate that the voter has voted. The sealed ballot paper envelope shall be placed in the ballot box set up and stamped in accordance with the prescribed requirements.
2. Once all the external voting envelopes received have been checked, the ballot box shall be opened and the stamped ballot paper envelopes shall be opened.
3. The ballot papers found in the ballot paper envelopes shall be counted in the order established in Article 149.
4. The ballot paper received in the ballot paper envelope shall be valid only in the polling district on whose electoral roll the voter has been entered.
5. If there is only one stamped ballot paper envelope in the polling district, in order to protect the secrecy of the ballot, it shall not be opened and shall be handed over to the constituency electoral committee or the municipal electoral committee which had set up the said committee and the constituency electoral committee or the municipal electoral committee shall enter the voting results in the vote counting record of that constituency or the municipality.
6. If a polling district electoral committee receives the covering envelopes addressed to another polling district electoral committee, these envelopes shall not be opened. Instead, under the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission, these envelopes shall be transferred to other electoral committees for counting the votes cast for the lists of candidates and/or the votes for candidates cast by the ballot papers located in these envelopes.
Article 156. Invalid ballot papers
1. Invalid ballot papers shall be:
1) ballot papers of a single-member constituency in which more than one candidate is marked or no candidate is marked;
2) ballot papers of a multi-member constituency in which more than one list of candidates is marked or no list of candidates is marked;
3) ballot papers with marks that make it impossible to determine the voter’s will, except for the cases related to preference votes;
2. Ballot papers of multi-member constituencies may not be declared invalid on the sole ground that it is impossible to determine for whom the voter has cast a preference vote(s).
3. If there is more than one ballot paper in the voting envelope, or if there is more than one ballot paper of a single-member constituency and a multi-member constituency in the voting envelope at an election to the Seimas, a local election or a mayoral election, all ballot papers in the envelope shall be considered invalid.
Article 157. Final count of votes
1. Votes cast in ballot papers found in voting envelopes shall be counted in accordance with the same procedure as the votes cast in ballot papers found in the ballot box.
Article 158. Counting of preference votes cast for candidates
1. The counting of preference votes cast for candidates (hereinafter: ‘preference votes’) shall begin after having counted the votes cast in the polling station and submitted in the voting envelopes of the polling district and having notified the constituency electoral committee or the municipal electoral committee thereof.
2. If a voter has not indicated the candidate number in the ballot paper, if a voter has indicated the electoral number of the candidate which is not available, or if it is impossible to determine the voter’s will from the mark(s) indicating preference votes, the preference vote(s) marked in the special box(es) of the second part of this ballot paper shall not be counted. If the candidate number of the same candidate is entered more than once on the ballot paper, only one preference vote shall be counted for this candidate according to this ballot paper.
Article 159. Vote counting record of a polling district
1. A vote counting record shall be drawn up in every polling district. The vote counting record of a single-member constituency of the polling district shall consist of one part, and the vote counting record of the multi-member constituency of the polling district shall consist of two parts.
2. The following data shall be entered in the vote counting record of the single-member constituency and in the first part of the vote counting record of the multi-member constituency:
1) the final number of voters on the electoral roll of the polling district on polling day, namely, the number of voters on the final electoral roll of the polling district before the opening of the polling station and the number of voters who have been added to the electoral roll of the polling district, who have come from other polling districts, who have been removed from the register, have voted in other polling districts, who have been added to the electoral roll of their own polling district, and who been removed from the register;
2) the number of ballot papers received from the constituency electoral committee or the municipal electoral committee and the number of ballot papers issued for voting at home;
3) the number of ballot papers issued to each member of the electoral committee on polling day, the number of ballot papers issued to voters, the number of signatures of voters, the number of arrival cards, and the number of spoilt and unused ballot papers;
6) the time of opening of the ballot box and the result of the inspection (in the form of a statement);
9) the number of votes cast for each candidate (in the single-member constituency) or for each list of candidates (in the multi-member constituency);
10) the number of voting envelopes of voters who have voted at home in the given polling district, the number of voting envelopes of voters who have voted in pre-poll voting, received from the constituency electoral committee or the municipality electoral committee, the number of all voting envelopes, and the number of stamped ballot paper envelopes;
3. The following data shall be entered in the second part of the vote counting record of the multi-member constituency of the polling district:
Article 160. Signing of vote counting records and the annexes thereto
1. All the data referred to in Article 159 shall be entered in the single-member constituency vote counting record of a polling district and in the first part of the multi-member constituency vote counting record. Consequently, all the counted ballot papers shall be put into stamped packets and into a special envelope(s) which shall be sealed and stored securely. The vote counting record of the polling district, or a part thereof, shall be signed by the chair and members of the polling district electoral committee first, followed by the signing of the election observers.
2. The second part of the multi-member constituency vote counting record of the polling district shall include all the data specified in Article 159. All the counted ballot papers shall be put into stamped packets. This part of the vote counting record shall be signed by the chair and members of the polling district electoral committee first, followed by the signing of the election observers.
3. Remarks of the election observers and separate opinions of the members of the polling district electoral committee (if any) shall be appended to the vote counting record or its first or second part and shall constitute an integral part thereof.
Article 161. Transfer of election documents of a polling district to a constituency electoral committee or a municipal electoral committee
1. A polling district electoral committee shall pack election documents, make their detailed descriptions, stamp them and deliver them to the constituency electoral committee or the municipal electoral committee no later than within 12 hours after the close of poll.
CHAPTER FIVE
DETERMINATION OF VOTING RESULTS BY
THE CONSTITUENCY ELECTORAL COMMITTEES,
MUNICIPAL ELECTORAL COMMITTEES AND
THE CENTRAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION
Article 162. Powers of the constituency electoral committee or the municipal electoral committee in determining voting results
1. The constituency electoral committee or the municipal electoral committee shall accept the election documents submitted by the polling district committee and, under the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission, shall check whether all the election documents and packets have been delivered, as well as ensure the security of the submitted documents.
2. The constituency electoral committee or the municipal electoral committee shall check the data of the vote counting record of the polling district against the data entered by the polling district committee into the database of the Central Electoral Commission.
3. The packets stamped by the polling district electoral committees, which contain ballot papers or other election documents, may be opened in the constituency electoral committee or the municipal electoral committee only by the decision of that constituency electoral committee or the municipal electoral committee. When recounting votes, the electoral committees must act in compliance with Article 153(3).
4. If the constituency electoral committee or the municipal electoral committee identifies any shortcomings in the documents submitted by the polling district electoral committee, the committee shall request the chair of the polling district electoral committee to submit the missing documents or take measures to determine the reasons for the shortcomings.
Article 163. Powers of a constituency electoral committee or a municipal electoral committee in counting voting results
1. In an election to the Seimas, the constituency electoral committee shall recount all the ballot papers of a single-member constituency if a margin of fewer than 50 votes separates the first and the second runner-up in the first round of the election in a single-member constituency; if, in the run-off and in the first round of the election in a single-member constituency, a margin of fewer than 50 votes separates the candidates and there are only two candidates, if a margin of fewer than 50 votes separates the leading candidate and the first runner up and the leading candidate is elected in the first round of the election; and where at least one member of the electoral committee, the first or the second runner up in the first round of the election, or the first runner up in the run-off so requests before the results of the election are determined.
2. In a mayoral election, the municipal electoral commission shall recount all the ballot papers in a single-member constituency if a margin of 10 or fewer votes separates the first and the second runner-up in the first round; if a margin of 10 or fewer votes separates the candidates in the run-off and the first round in a single-member constituency, where there are only two candidates and the leading candidate is elected in the first round; or where the difference in the above cases exceeds 10 votes but does not exceed 0.05 per cent of the number of voters who have participated; and where at least one member of the committee or the first and the second runner-up in the first round of the election, or the first runner up in the run-off voting so requests before the results of the election are determined.
3. In a local election, the municipal electoral committee shall recount all the ballot papers in a multi-member constituency where the difference between the proportion of votes required to obtain mandates in the municipal council as set out in Article 168(4), on the one hand, and the votes received by the list of candidates which has not been elected, on the other, is equal to or less than 10 votes, or where the difference is more than 10 votes, but does not exceed 0.05 per cent of the number of voters who participated in the election, and where at least one member of that electoral committee or the election representative of the first runner-up political organisation so requests before the results of the election are determined.
4. For the purpose of recounting preference votes, the municipal electoral committee shall, under the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission, select a polling district(s) of the multi-member constituency of the local election and the list(s) of candidates by drawing lots. The number of lists of candidates to be recounted in particular polling districts shall be determined in such a way that the total number of lists of candidates to be recounted in a municipality is at least 10 per cent of the number of lists of candidates in the municipality multiplied by the number of polling districts. If the ballot papers of the multi-member constituency of the local election have been recalculated on the grounds referred to in paragraph (3) or in other cases provided for in this Code, the ballot papers of the polling districts of these constituencies shall not be included in the recounting of preference votes of the ballot papers of the polling districts selected at random.
Article 164. Vote counting records of constituency electoral committees and municipal electoral committees
1. A constituency electoral committee or a municipal electoral committee shall count the votes by summing up the data submitted by the polling district electoral committees. The constituency electoral committee or the municipal electoral committee shall check whether the results of the polling districts for each constituency published in the information system of the Central Electoral Commission match the data of the vote counting records, consider separate opinions of the members of the polling district electoral committees, remarks of the election observers and complaints of the voters, and take decisions thereon.
2. Based on the vote counting records of the polling districts and, where necessary, on the ballot papers and other election documents, the constituency electoral committee or the municipal electoral committee shall establish and enter the following data in the vote counting records of the constituency electoral committee or the municipal electoral committee:
2) the voter turnout, indicating the voter turnout in the single-member constituency and/or the multi-member constituency;
3) the number of valid and invalid ballot papers (in multi-member constituencies and/or single-member constituencies);
3. The vote counting record of the constituency electoral committee or the municipal electoral committee shall be signed by the chair of the electoral committee, their deputy, secretary, and members of this committee. Persons who disagree with the data of the vote counting record shall also sign the record and attach their separate opinion(s) to the record, which constitutes an integral part of the record.
Article 165. Submission of documents of a constituency electoral committee or a municipal electoral committee to the Central Electoral Commission
1. A constituency electoral committee or a municipal electoral committee shall forward all the documents received from the polling district electoral committees to the Central Electoral Commission within the time limit set by the Commission.
2. The constituency electoral committee or the municipal electoral committee shall put electoral rolls, vote counting records, records spanning its entire work history and other election documents into designated packets, stamp them and transfer them to the Central Electoral Commission within the time limit set by the Commission.
Article 166. Provision of information about voting results
2. Polling district electoral committees, constituency electoral committees and municipal electoral committees shall provide information under the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission.
Article 167. Establishment of voting results in single-member constituencies
1. Voting results in a single-member constituency shall be officially established by an electoral committee of that constituency or municipality or by the Central Electoral Commission by signing the vote counting record of the constituency electoral committee, the municipal electoral committee or the Central Electoral Commission is signed.
2. The following rules shall apply to single-member constituencies during an election to the Seimas:
1) a candidate who has received the majority of votes of the voters who participated in the poll, but no less than one-fifth of the votes of all the voters entered on the electoral roll of that constituency, shall be deemed to have been elected;
2) if more than two candidates have participated in the election and a Member of the Seimas has not been elected pursuant to paragraph (2), point (1), a run-off voting shall be held in two weeks, where the two candidates who have received the majority of votes will participate. If more than two candidates have received the largest number of votes, all the candidates who received the largest number of votes shall participate in the run-off voting. The date of the run-off voting shall be published by the Central Electoral Commission together with the election results;
3) regardless of the number of voters participating in the election, the candidate who has received more votes shall be deemed to have been elected at the run-off voting. In the event of a tie, the candidate who has received more votes in the first round shall be deemed to have been elected;
4) if both candidates have received an equal amount of votes during the initial poll, an older candidate shall become Member of the Seimas;
3. The following rules shall apply to single-member constituencies during a presidential election:
1) the candidate who has received more than half of the votes cast in the first round with more than a half of all the voters participating in the election shall be deemed to have been elected;
2) if less than a half of all the voters have turned out for the poll, the candidate who has received the majority of voters, but not less than one-third of the votes of all the voters, shall be deemed to have been elected;
3) if during the first round none of the candidates have received the number of votes referred to in paragraph (3), points (1) or (2), a run-off voting shall be held in two weeks in respect of the two candidates who have received the majority of votes. Regardless of the number of voters who have turned out for the poll, the candidate who has received more votes shall be deemed to have been elected. In the event of a tie, a candidate who has received more votes during the first round shall be deemed to have been elected. The date of a run-off voting shall be announced by the Central Electoral Commission together with the results of the first round;
4. The following rules shall apply to single-member constituencies during of a mayoral election:
1) the candidate who has received more than half of the votes of all the voters participating in the poll in the first round shall be deemed to have been elected, provided not less than 40 percent of the voters entered on the electoral roll of the constituency have turned out for the poll;
2) if less than 40 percent of the voters entered the electoral roll of that constituency have turned out for the poll, the candidate who has received the majority of votes, but not less than one-fifth of the votes of all the voters entered on the electoral roll of that constituency, shall be deemed to have been elected;
3) if none of the candidates has received the required majority of votes in the first round, a run-off voting for the two candidates who have received the majority of votes in the first round shall be held no later than in two weeks after the first round under the procedure laid down by this Code. The date of a run-off voting shall be announced by the Central Electoral Commission together with the results of the first round;
4) regardless of the number of voters who have participated in the poll, the candidate who has received more votes, shall be deemed to have been elected. In the event of a tie, the candidate who has received more votes during the first round shall be deemed to have been elected;
Article 168. Establishment of voting results in multi-member constituencies
1. Voting results shall be officially established by a constituency electoral committee, a municipal electoral committee or by the Central Electoral Commission by signing the vote counting record of the respective electoral committee or commission.
2. The following rules shall apply to multi-member constituencies during an election to the Seimas:
1) the election shall be deemed to have taken place if more than one-fourth of the eligible voters have participated;
2) a list of candidates may be granted mandates in the Seimas if it receives the votes of at least five percent of the voters who turn out for the poll. A joint (or equivalent) list of candidates shall be granted mandates in the Seimas if it receives the votes of at least seven percent of the voters who turn out for the poll.
3. The following rules shall apply to multi-member constituencies during an election to the European Parliament:
1) the election shall be deemed to have taken place regardless of the number of voters who have participated;
2) a list of candidates may be granted mandates if it receives the votes of at least five percent of the voters who have turned out for the poll. A joint (or equivalent) list of candidates may be granted mandates if it receives the votes of at least seven percent of the voters who turn out for the poll.
4. The following rules shall apply to multi-member constituencies during a local election:
1) the election shall be deemed to have taken place regardless of the number of the voters who have participated in it;
2) a list of candidates may be granted mandates in the municipal council if it receives the votes of at least four percent of the voters who have participated in the poll. A joint (or equivalent) list of candidates may be granted mandates in the municipal council if it receives the votes of at least six percent of the voters who participated in the poll.
Article 169. Distribution of mandates in a multi-member constituency
1. Mandates shall be distributed among the lists of candidates who have reached the threshold referred to in Article 168 and who have jointly received at least 60 percent of the votes of the voters who have participated in the poll.
2. If less than 60 per cent of votes have been cast for the lists of candidates participating in the distribution of mandates, the right to participate in the distribution of mandates shall be acquired by the list of candidates (or the lists if an equal number of votes have been cast in favour of two or more lists) which so far has not participated in the distribution of mandates and in favour of which the highest number of votes has been cast. By the same token, the number of the lists of candidates eligible for participation in mandate distribution shall be increased so that at least 60 percent of the votes would be cast for the lists of candidates participating in the distribution of mandates.
Article 170. The quota method and the largest remainder method
1. An election quota shall be the number of votes required for receiving one mandate in a multi-member constituency. The election quota shall be determined as follows: the sum total of votes received by the lists of candidates participating in the distribution of mandates shall be divided by the number of mandates to be elected in the constituency. If the division produces a remainder, the quotient (election quota) shall be increased to the nearest whole number.
2. The number of mandates per list of candidates shall be established by dividing the number of votes received by the list of candidates by the election quota.
3. If the division produces a remainder, it shall be used to distribute any remaining mandates according to the fractional parts of the remainders.
4. Mandates not distributed according to the election quotas shall be distributed among the lists of candidates who have received mandates, starting with the list that has the largest remainder, until all the remaining mandates are distributed.
5. If the remainders for multiple lists of candidates are equal, the list with the smaller candidate number shall be entered first. Any mandates remaining undistributed after the application of the quota method shall be distributed one by one to the lists of candidates in sequence, starting with the list of candidates that is entered first.
6. If any list of candidates receives more mandates than the number of candidates on the list, the remaining mandates shall be further distributed to other lists by applying the largest remainder method.
Article 171. Counting of ratings cast for candidates and establishment of the final order of succession on the lists of candidates
1. The Central Electoral Commission (in elections to the Seimas and in elections to the European Parliament) and the municipal electoral committees (in elections to municipal councils) shall count the preference votes of candidates and establish the final order of succession of candidates on the lists according to the preference votes.
2. Firstly, the preference votes cast for each candidate shall be summed up. If the sum total of preference votes of a candidate exceeds or equals the number of mandates to be elected in the multi-member constituency or equals it, the election rating of a candidate shall be equal to this sum. If the sum total of preference votes of a candidate is smaller, the election rating of a candidate shall be considered to be zero.
3. The final order of candidates in each list shall be determined according to the ranking of each candidate. The candidate who has been ranked higher shall be entered first in the order of succession. In the event that several candidates have been ranked equally, the candidate whose election number is smaller shall be entered first. When establishing the final order of succession of candidates in a multi-member constituency, the candidates who have been elected in single-member constituencies shall be omitted from the list of candidates.
Article 172. Incompatibility of offices
1. The office of President of the Republic, Member of the Seimas, Member of the European Parliament, municipal councillor or mayor shall be incompatible with the positions of servicemen fulfilling active military service (with the exception of the case when a contract of a volunteer serviceman or any other serviceman in non-continuous volunteer military service is considered suspended).
2. The office of Member of the Seimas, with the exception of their duties in the Seimas, shall be incompatible with any other office in a state or municipal institution, agency or organisation as well as with any job in a business, commercial or any other private agency or enterprise. A Seimas Member may be appointed as Prime Minister or minister.
3. The office of President of the Republic shall be incompatible with any other office in a state or municipal institution, agency or organisation as well as with any job in a business, commercial or any other private agency or enterprise.
4. The incompatibility of the office of Member of the European Parliament with other offices shall be determined by the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Status and Working Conditions of Members of the European Parliament elected in the Republic of Lithuania.
5. The office of municipal councillor or mayor shall be incompatible with the following offices:
5) head of a Government agency or an agency under the ministry, where the head’s work is related to the supervision and control of the activities of municipalities;
6. The office of municipal councillor shall also be incompatible with the following offices of the municipality of which the person is a municipal councillor:
5) civil servant and employee working under an employment contract with the municipal administration;
6) career civil servant or employee working under an employment contract with the secretariat of the municipal council;
7) head of a budgetary institution the owner or one of the owners of which is that municipality or an employee acting as the head of such budgetary institution for more than three months;
8) head of a public establishment where the municipality acts as an owner or holds a stake, or an employee acting as the head of such public establishment for more than three months;
9) member of the collegial management or any other body within a public establishment, where the municipality acts as an owner or holds a stake;
10) head of a municipal enterprise or employee performing the functions of the head of that municipal enterprise temporarily for more than three months;
12) head of a public limited liability company and a private limited liability company managed by that municipality or employee performing the functions of the head of such company temporarily for more than three months;
7. The office of mayor shall be incompatible with the offices referred in paragraph (6), points (2) to (13).
8. A person elected as Member of the European Parliament or a municipal councillor and holding the office incompatible with these mandates must decide thereon and renounce such office or relinquish the mandate under the procedure and within the time limits laid down by this Code.
9. A person who is elected as President of the Republic, Member of the Seimas, municipal councillor or mayor or whose mandate to the existing vacancy is confirmed may not, on the day of taking the oath, hold the office referred to in paragraphs (1) to (7).
Article 173. Procedures for resolving the incompatibility of the mandate of a Member of the European Parliament with other offices
1. Persons who have been elected to the European Parliament or have become member by filling a vacancy and who decides to relinquish the mandate of a Member of the European Parliament must personally submit an application to the Central Electoral Commission no later than 15 days before the first sitting of the incoming European Parliament or no later than within 15 days from the date on which the Central Electoral Committee has adopted the a decision regarding the confirmation of their mandate. If persons elected to the European Parliament renounces the office incompatible with that of Member of the European Parliament, they must notify the Central Electoral Commission about this in writing no later than seven days before the first sitting of the incoming European Parliament.
2. If persons elected to the European Parliament holding an incompatible office fail to relinquish their mandate or renounce the office within the set time limit, the Central Electoral Commission must, within five working days after becoming aware of the incompatibility of the mandate of a Member of the European Parliament with the office held by them, by a reasoned decision declare these persons to have lost the mandate of a Member of the European Parliament.
Article 174. Procedures for addressing the incompatibility of the mandate of a municipal councillor or a mayor with other current positions
1. An elected municipal councillor who decides to relinquish the mandate of a municipal councillor shall submit to the Central Electoral Commission, in person or by post, a notarised statement or a declaration signed with a qualified electronic signature regarding the relinquishment of the mandate of a municipal councillor, no later than ten days before the first meeting of the municipal council. After receiving the statement, the Central Electoral Commission, acting as the mandates commission, shall take a decision on the withdrawal of the mandate of the elected municipal councillor and the confirmation of the mandate of a new municipal councillor no later than seven days before the first meeting of the municipal council, and shall publish this decision in the Register of Legal Acts. Candidates entered on the list of candidates for a vacancy of a municipal councillor, who decide to relinquish the mandate of the elected municipal councillor, must also submit their statements on the relinquishment of the mandate of the municipal councillor to the Central Electoral Commission no later than seven days before the first meeting of the municipal council. If an elected municipal councillor fails to notify the Central Electoral Commission of the renouncement of the office incompatible with that of municipal councillor no later than ten days before the first meeting of the municipal council, the Central Electoral Commission, acting as the mandates commission, shall take the decision on the withdrawal of the mandate of this municipal councillor no later than seven days before the first meeting of the municipal council and shall publish this decision in the Register of Legal Acts.
2. The provision under paragraph (1), obliging an elected municipal councillor to address the issue of incompatibility of the current position with the mandate of a municipal councillor and to renounce either such office or the mandate of the elected municipal councillor no later than ten days before the first meeting of the municipal council shall not apply to persons whose powers terminate upon the expiry of the powers of a municipal councillor and a mayor, namely, to the director of the municipal administration, the deputy director of the municipal administration, a civil servants of mayor’s political (personal) confidence and the secretary of the municipal council.
3. A person whose mandate of a municipal councillor is confirmed after the first sitting of the municipal council or who is elected in an early mayoral election but who holds an office incompatible with the office of municipal councillor or mayor must renounce this office before taking the oath. If a person does not renounce the incompatible office before taking the oath, the Central Electoral Commission shall, upon discovering the incompatibility of the mandate and the office held, take a reasoned decision to revoke the mandate of a municipal councillor or mayor and shall publish this decision in the Register of Legal Acts.
4. A municipal councillor or a mayor shall lose the mandate by a reasoned decision of the Central Electoral Commission, published in the Register of Legal Acts, if the municipal councillor or the mayor fails, for unjustified reasons, to take an oath within three months from the confirmation of the mandate of a municipal councillor or mayor.
Article 175. Complaints concerning the withdrawal of a mandate
Complaints concerning the withdrawal of a mandate of a Member of the European Parliament, a municipal councillor or a mayor shall, on the grounds established by this Code, be lodged with the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania within ten days of the publication of an official announcement of the Central Electoral Committee in the Register of Legal Acts and must be considered no later than within three days of the receipt thereof. Court decisions regarding the said issues shall take effect upon pronouncement.
Article 176. Grounds for the termination of powers before their expiry
1. In the cases laid down by this Code, the Central Electoral Commission shall take a reasoned decision concerning the termination of the powers of a Member of the Seimas, a municipal councillor, a mayor, or a Member of the European Parliament before the expiry of the term of office no later than within 15 days (with the exception of the case of death) when here are grounds for doing so and publish the decision in the Register of Legal Acts.
2. The powers of a Member of the Seimas shall terminate prior to the expiry of the term of office in the following cases:
1) Member of the Seimas resigns under a resignation statement. Such a statement must be delivered in person, signed with a qualified electronic signature, or notarised and submitted to the Central Electoral Commission;
2) the court declares the Member of the Seimas legally incapable based on an effective decision of the court;
3) the Member of the Seimas dies, in which case the term of office shall expire on the day of death;
4) the Seimas withdraws the mandate under the impeachment proceedings, in which case the term of office shall expire based on an effective resolution of the Seimas;
5) the Member of the Seimas takes up or fails to resign from a job incompatible with the office of Member of the Seimas, in which case the term of office shall expire based on an effective resolution of the Seimas;
6) the Member of the Seimas loses citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, in which case the term of office shall expire based on an effective legal act concerning the loss of citizenship;
3. The powers of the President of the Republic shall terminate prior to the expiry of the term of office in the following cases:
1) the President of the Republic resigns, in which case the term of office shall expire based on an effective decree of the President of the Republic;
3) the Seimas removes the President of the Republic from office through the impeachment proceedings, in which case the term of office shall expire based on an effective resolution of the Seimas;
4) the Seimas, by a three-fifths majority vote of all the Members of the Seimas, adopts a resolution taking into account the conclusion of the Constitutional Court and stating that the health condition of the President of the Republic does not allow the current President to perform the presidential duties, and the resolution comes into effect;
4. The powers of a municipal councillor or a mayor shall terminate prior to the expiry of the term of office in the following cases:
1) the municipal councillor or the mayor resigns, in which case the term of office shall expire based on a resignation statement of the municipal councillor or mayor. This statement must be signed with a qualified electronic signature, notarised, or signed by the mayor and by the head of the political organisation (its branch) if the municipal councillor has been nominated by the political organisation. Subsequently, the head of the political organisation (its branch), the municipal councillor or the mayor must personally submit the said statement to the Central Electoral Commission;
2) the municipal councillor or he mayor resigns before taking up the duties incompatible with those of a municipal councillor and a mayor;
3) the municipal councillor or the mayor fails to attend three consecutive municipal council meetings without and valid grounds, in which case the term of office shall expire based on the decision of the Central Electoral Commission taken on the recommendation of the Commission for Ethics of the municipal council;
4) a court judgment of conviction becomes effective, in which case the term of office shall expire based on an effective judgment of the court;
5) the municipal councillor or the mayor leaves for permanent residence outside the territory of the municipality whose municipal councillor or mayor they have been elected to serve, in which case the term of office shall expire based on the notification of the mayor and/or the data of the Population Register;
6) the court takes a decision on the deportation from the Republic of Lithuania of the municipal councillor who is not a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania, in which case the term of office shall expire based on an effective decision of the court;
7) the municipal councillor or the mayor takes up the duties or fails to renounce the office incompatible with the office of municipal councillor or a mayor;
8) the Member of the Seimas dies, in which case the term of office shall expire on the day of death;
9) the court declares the municipal councillor or the mayor legally incapable, in which case the term of office shall expire based on an effective decision of the court;
10) direct rule is introduced on the territory of the municipality by a decision of the Seimas, with the exception of the cases specified by the Law on Direct Rule on the Municipal Territory;
11) the municipal council takes the decision to terminate the powers of the municipal councillor or the mayor under the procedure laid down by the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Local Self-government;
5. The powers of a Member of the European Parliament shall terminate prior to the expiry of the term of office in the following cases:
1) the Member of the European Parliament resigns, in which case the term of office shall expire based on the resignation statement. Such a statement must be delivered in person, signed with a qualified electronic signature, or notarised and submitted to the Central Electoral Commission;
2) the Member of the European Parliament dies, in which case the term of office shall expire on the day of the death;
3)the European Parliament withdraws the mandate of a Member of the European Parliament under the procedure laid down by the rules of procedure of the European Parliament, in which case the term of office shall expire based on an effective decision of the European Parliament;
4) the Member of the European Parliament takes up the duties incompatible with the office of Member of the European Parliament and fail to renounce these duties, in which case the term of office shall expire based on an effective decision of the Central Electoral Commission;
5) the court declares the Member of the European Parliament legally incapable, in which case the term of office shall expire based on an effective decision of the court;
6. If, upon establishing the final election results, it transpires that a person elected as a Member of the Seimas, the President of the Republic, a municipal councillor, a mayor or a Member of the European Parliament has breached the prohibition to bribe voters or the procedure for financing political campaigns or has knowingly submitted incorrect (false) information in the candidate’s questionnaire (including the cases when it transpires that such person is related by an oath or pledge to a foreign state or has a citizenship of another state, has deliberately collaborated with the special services of the former USSR, has been found guilty of committing a criminal act by a judgment of the court of the Republic of Lithuania or a foreign state which has become effective after 11 March 1990, has previously been removed from the office of President of the Republic or has lost the mandate (powers) of a Member of the Seimas, a municipal councillor, a mayor or a Member of the European Parliament for a breach of the oath, a gross violation of the Constitution, a crime or a gross violation of this Code (or have, respectively, infringed the requirements referred to in Article 76(1), points (8), (11), (12) or (13), the Central Electoral Commission shall, within five working days, take the following steps:
1) take the decision recognising the said municipal councillor, mayor, or Member of the European Parliament as having committed a gross violation of this Code and having lost the mandate, and publish this fact on its website and in the Register of Legal Acts;
2) take the decision on the existence of the grounds for recognising the said Member of the Seimas or the President of the Republic as having committed a gross violation of this Code and forward all the information regarding the gross violation of this Code committed by the Member of the Seimas or the President of the Republic to the Seimas and the President of the Republic with a view to resolving the issue of termination of powers in the event of a gross violation of this Code or the imposition of impeachment.
Article 177. Consequences of termination of the powers of a Member of the Seimas or a mayor elected in a single-member constituency
Upon the termination of the powers of a Member of the Seimas or a mayor elected in a single-member constituency, an early election shall be held in the respective single-member constituency, save for the exceptions referred to in paragraphs 2 and 5 of Article 13.
Article 178. Consequences of termination of the powers of a person elected in the multi-member constituency
1. If the powers of a person elected in the multi-member constituency terminate before the expiry of the term of office, the first runner-up who has not received a mandate shall fill the vacancy on the list of candidates under which the former Member of the Seimas, the Member of the European Parliament or the municipal councillor was elected (hereinafter: the ‘post-election list’).
2. After deciding to relinquish the mandate, the candidate on the post-election list must submit a request to renounce the mandate to the Central Electoral Commission in person, by signing the request with a qualified electronic signature, or by sending a notarised request by post, within seven days at the latest.
3. If the post-election list has no candidates who have not received mandates, the mandate(s) shall be transferred to another list based on the predetermined order of the lists of candidates established after the election for the distribution of mandates using the largest remainder method, namely, to first runner-up of the list of candidates that received the last mandate according to this order. In such a case, the first candidate on the list who has not received the mandate shall fill the vacancy in such a case, the first candidate on the list who has not received the mandate shall fill the vacancy.
4. The Central Electoral Commission must take a decision concerning to fill a vacancy no later than within 15 days after the vacancy occurs.
5. Upon the disappearance of the circumstances which formed the basis for recognising the powers of a municipal councillor as terminated before the expiry of the term of office on the grounds referred in Article 176(4), points (2), (4) and (5), such person shall have the priority right to fill an arising vacancy of a municipal councillor on the post-election list during the period between elections. In this case, within 15 days of the disappearance of the said circumstances, the person must submit to the Central Electoral Commission an application, notarised or signed with a qualified electronic signature, requesting that the Central Electoral Commission acknowledge the person’s place on the post-election list of candidates who have not been granted received a mandate of a municipal councillor.
Article 179. Determination and publication of final election results
1. Final election results shall mean the determination of the elected candidates as well as the determination of the final order of the candidates on the lists of candidates in a multi-member constituency on the basis of the results of the poll.
2. The Central Electoral Commission shall determine the final election results in the constituencies on the basis of the results of the poll, after examining all complaints.
3. The decision of the Central Electoral Commission on the final election results in a constituency shall be officially published in the Register of Legal Acts no later than within seven days from polling day or the day of run-off voting.
4. If a run-off voting is held in single-member constituencies in the framework of elections to the Seimas, the decision on the final election results in the multi-member constituency shall be published alongside the decision on the final election results in single-member constituencies where the run-off was held.
5. If a run-off voting is held in the framework of mayoral elections, the decision on the final election results of that municipal council shall be published alongside the decision on the final results of the mayoral elections.
Article 180. Presentation of certificates to elected persons
1. The Central Electoral Commission shall present certificates of the Members of the Seimas, the certificate of the President of the Republic and certificates of the Members of the European Parliament to the elected persons within five working days of the official publication of the Commission’s decision on the final election results.
Article 181. Invalidation of election results
1. The Central Electoral Commission shall invalidate the constituency election results under the following circumstances:
1) where the Central Electoral Commission establishes that gross violations set out in Article 193 had a material impact on the election results;
2) where the Central Electoral Commission establishes that falsification or loss of election documents had a material impact on the election results;
3) where the Central Electoral Commission establishes that it is impossible to determine the election results on the basis of vote counting records or other election documents;
4) where the Central Electoral Commission establishes that, in first round of voting in a single-member constituency with only two candidates standing for election, the first runner-up is elected; and the candidate who stood in the run-off voting in a single-member constituency and received the highest number of votes has died or had his or her passive right to vote restricted.
2. The results of the election shall be deemed inconclusive or materially affected in the following cases:
1) where, in a single-member constituency, it is impossible to identify an elected candidate or candidates standing for run-off voting;
Article 182. Electoral disputes
1. Electoral disputes shall mean the examination of complaints, requests and reports of persons (hereinafter collectively: ‘complaints’) concerning the violations of this Code. The Central Electoral Commission shall establish the procedure for the examination of complaints in electoral committees.
2. The electoral committees referred to in Article 19 shall examine the electoral disputes within their competence and the territory covered.
a) examine all electoral disputes outside the period of political campaign, as well as electoral disputes which fall outside the competence of a constituency, municipality or district electoral committee during the political campaign;
b) examine electoral disputes involving two or more constituencies during the political campaign, where it is necessary to ensure their equal examination;
a) examine electoral disputes arising during the electoral campaign and relating to violations of this Code committed on the territory of the electoral constituency and which fall outside the competence of the polling district electoral committee;
b) examine electoral disputes involving two or more polling stations during the political campaign, where it is necessary to ensure their equal examination;
a) during the electoral campaign, examine disputes concerning the entry of a voter on the electoral roll of a polling district or concerning errors established in the electoral roll;
b) examine electoral disputes regarding the buildings housing polling stations of the polling district;
Article 183. Right of appeal
1. Individuals or their representatives shall have the right to lodge complaints regarding the violation of the rights and/or legitimate interests set out in this Code, but no later than within 30 days from the date on which they became aware of the possible violation. Complaints regarding the financing of political campaigns, bribery of voters and other violations related to elections may be submitted no later than within two years; complaints regarding political advertising may be submitted no later than within six months from the date of the possible violations.
2. Alongside listing the violations of this Code, the complaint must include the name, surname, organisation name, and contact details of a person or a representative lodging the complaint. The complaint must be signed. Anonymous complaints shall not be examined.
3. The examination of a complaint shall be refused in any of the following circumstances:
2) the examination of the circumstances defined in the complaint falls outside the competence of the electoral committee;
3) the applicant fails to provide the information indispensable for proceeding to the examination of the complaint, or the text of the complaint is illegible;
4) the complaint on the same matter has already been examined and the new complaint does not allege any new circumstances or facts;
4. The electoral committee shall inform the complainant of its refusal to consider the complaint within 14 days of receipt of the complaint.
5. If the information contained in the complaint gives reason to believe that a criminal, administrative or other offence is being prepared for, is being or has been committed, the electoral committee shall forward the information received about the possible offence to the institution authorised to investigate such matters.
Article 184. Examining of complaints in electoral committees
1. A person’s complaint shall be examined by the electoral committee competent to decide on a complaint concerning the alleged violation. If the complaint has been filed with an electoral committee, which, within the limits of its competence and the territory covered, is not entitled to decide on the violation alleged in the complaint, the electoral committee which has received the complaint shall forward the complaint to the competent electoral committee no later than within two days by electronic means of communication. If the complaint has been filed with several electoral committees at the same time, the higher electoral committee shall resolve the issue of its examination and inform the other electoral committees thereof.
2. After examining the complaint, the electoral committee shall take a decision. The decision of the polling district electoral committee may be appealed against to the constituency electoral committee and municipal electoral committee, whereas decisions by constituency and municipal electoral committees may be appealed against to the Central Electoral Commission. Having examined a complaint against a decision adopted by a subordinate electoral committee, a higher electoral committee shall be entitled to confirm, annul, amend the decision or return it to a lower electoral committee for reconsideration.
Article 185. Deadlines for examining complaints by the Central Electoral Commission
1. The Central Electoral Commission must examine each complaint it receives within 30 days from the date of receipt, unless otherwise provided for in this Code.
2. The shortened time limits for examining complaints shall be as follows:
1) complaints concerning the entry of a voter on the electoral roll shall be examined within two days, but no later than on polling day;
2) complaints regarding ballot papers and/or counter opinions shall be examined within three days, but no later than before polling day;
3. The extended time limits for the examination of complaints shall apply for complaints concerning political campaign financing, political advertising and bribery of voters. Such complaints shall be examined within three months of their receipt.
4. The Central Electoral Commission may extend the time limits for the examination of complaints specified in paragraphs (1) and (3) for the same duration as established, but not exceeding nine months.
5. The complainant shall be informed about the decision adopted regarding the complaint no later than within five days from the date of adoption of the decision. The complainant lodging the complaint referred to in paragraph (2) shall be informed of the decision adopted regarding the complaint within two days from the date of adoption of the decision, but no later than before polling day.
6. The decisions of the Central Electoral Commission on the complaints referred to in paragraph (2), as well as on the loss of the status of a campaigner, violation of the requirements for the collection of voter signatures or failure of the Central Electoral Commission to act within three days from the date of entry into force of its decision or from the day on which the decision should have been taken, may be appealed against to the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania. The court shall resolve the said appeals within three days. The decisions of the Central Electoral Commission concerning other decisions referred to in this Section shall be appealed to the Regional Administrative Court in accordance with the procedure laid down by laws.
Article 186. Time limits for the examination of complaints in constituency municipal committees and in municipal electoral committees
1. Constituency electoral committees and municipal electoral committees must examine each complaint they receive within the maximum of 14 days.
2. Complaints concerning the entry of a voter on the electoral roll of a constituency or the errors established in the electoral roll shall be examined within the shortened time limit laid down in Article 185(2)(1).
Article 187. Time limits for the examination of complaints in polling district committees
2. Complaints concerning the entry of a voter on the electoral roll of a polling district or concerning any errors established in the electoral roll shall be examined within the shortened time limit laid down in Article 185(2)(1) .
SECTION TWO
ELECTORAL DISPUTES CONCERNING
THE RESULTS OF THE COUNTING OF VOTES,
ELECTION RESULTS AND POWERS
Article 188. Electoral disputes regarding the results of the counting of votes or election results
1. Electoral disputes concerning the results of the counting of votes or the election results shall be settled by the electoral committees on the basis of complaints from the persons concerned and in accordance with the procedure laid down in this Article.
2. A complaint concerning the results of the counting of votes or the election results shall be a reasoned written application to the electoral committee in charge of drawing up the vote counting record.
3. A complaint concerning the results of the counting of votes or the election results may be filed by an election observer, a representative for elections, a candidate, or a political organisation that has nominated a candidate or a list of candidates whose results of the counting of votes or results of the election are contested.
4. The complaint concerning the results of the counting of votes or the results of the election must specify the electoral committee to which the complaint is submitted, the circumstances known to the complainant regarding the violation of the procedure under this Code for counting votes and determining the election results, and the complainant’s request accompanied by the complainant’s name, surname (organisation name), address of the place of residence (registered office) and contact details. The complaint must be signed.
Article 189. Complaints regarding the results of the counting of votes or election results, and deadlines for the submission of complaints
1. Complaints regarding the vote counting record of a polling district or regarding the results of the counting of votes shall be examined by constituency electoral committees and municipal electoral committees.
2. Complaints regarding the drawing up of the vote counting record of a constituency electoral committee or municipal electoral committee, the results of the counting of votes and the recounting of votes shall be examined by the Central Electoral Commission.
3. Complaints regarding the results of the counting of votes or election results shall be filed within 24 hours from the date of the drawing up of the vote counting record of the electoral committee or from the date of the appropriate steps made by the electoral committee. The said complaints must be examined within no later than 48 hours of their receipt. The Central Electoral Commission shall examine all complaints concerning the counting of votes or election results before the date of publication of the final election results.
4. For the purposes of local elections, mayoral elections, and elections to the European Parliament, the decisions of the Central Electoral Commission on the results of the counting of votes, the drawing-up of a vote counting record, or the establishment of results may be appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania within five days from the date of entry into force of the decision of the Central Electoral Commission. Likewise, any omissions of the Central Electoral Commission may be appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania within five days from the day on which a decision should have been adopted under the time limits laid down in this Code. The Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania shall resolve the said appeals within five days.
Article 190. Recounting of the vote counting results
1. The constituency electoral committee or municipal electoral committee, when examining a complaint regarding the results of the counting of votes or the election results, shall be entitled to recount, in the presence of at least three fifths of the members of the committee, some or all of the ballot papers and/or election documents submitted by a constituency electoral committee. For this purpose, the constituency electoral committee and the municipal electoral committee shall be entitled to engage members of polling district electoral committees. If an arithmetic error is found in the vote counting record, or if it is found that ballot papers have been counted incorrectly, the constituency electoral committee and the municipal electoral committee shall draw up an additional vote counting record of a polling district and attach it to the vote counting record of that polling district.
2. The Central Electoral Commission, when examining a complaint concerning the results of the counting of votes or election results, shall be entitled to recount some or all of the ballot papers and/or electoral documents submitted by a constituency electoral committee or a municipal electoral committee. For this purpose, the Central Electoral Commission shall be entitled to engage members of other electoral committees. If an arithmetic error is found in the vote counting record, or if it is found that ballot papers have been counted incorrectly, the Central Electoral Commission shall draw up an additional vote counting record of the constituency electoral committee or a municipal electoral committee and attach it to the vote counting record of that constituency electoral committee or municipal electoral committee.
Rule 191. Enquiries to the Constitutional Court about violations of the Code during presidential elections and elections to the Seimas
1. The procedure for submitting an inquiry by the President of the Republic and the Seimas and examination thereof in the Constitutional Court shall be established by the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania.
2. If the Constitutional Court concludes that there has been a gross violation of this Code and that this has had a significant impact on the election results, the Seimas may adopt one of the following resolutions:
1) the resolution invalidating the results of the presidential election or the election to the Seimas, where factual results of the election cannot be determined based on the vote counting records;
2) the resolution determining the results of the presidential election and the election to the Seimas on the basis of vote counting records approved by electoral committees, provided that the decisions of the electoral committees confirming the vote counting records have not been appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania and the Court has not annulled the decisions of the electoral committees confirming the said vote counting records.
Article 192. Complaints to the court regarding the powers of municipal council members and mayors
1. A representative for elections, a candidate, a political party or a political committee that has nominated a candidate or a list of candidates to stand for the elections of municipal councils and mayors, as well as persons elected as municipal council members and mayors may, after the first meeting of the newly elected municipal council, appeal against the decision of the Central Electoral Commission on the termination of the powers of a municipal council member or a mayor, appeal the decisions of the Central Electoral Commission granting the mandate of a new municipal council member or mayor, or the refusal of the Central Electoral Commission to make such decisions.
2. The complaints referred to in paragraph (1) may be filed with the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania within 15 days from the entry into force of the decision of the Central Electoral Commission. Likewise, any omissions of the Central Electoral Commission may be appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court within 15 days from the day on which the decision on the applicant should have been taken under the time limits laid down in this Code. The Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania shall examine these complaints within 15 days.
Article 193. Gross violations of the Code
1. The following shall be considered to be gross violations of this Code:
1) financing of an electoral political campaign participant from inadmissible donations specified in Article 111;
2) the use by a participant of a political campaign, for the purposes of an electoral political campaign, of donations received either from persons who are not entitled to finance electoral political campaigns or from inadmissible sources of political campaign financing;
3) the conclusion of financing agreements by a political campaign participant in breach of the requirements;
5) candidate’s donations for financing the respective political campaign, including the sum of the financial obligations (debt) assumed during the electoral campaign and the political campaign expenditure paid up before the beginning of the political campaign, that exceed the amount specified in Article 110(3) by more than 10 per cent;
7) campaign participant spending on undeclared political advertising that exceeds the maximum threshold for political campaign expenditure by 10 per cent or more;
8) undeclared funds received by a campaigner for financing the political campaign that exceed the maximum political campaign spending threshold by 10 per cent or more;
9) loss of the documents to be protected or engagement in other activities that make it impossible to determine the veracity of the data in the independent participant’s report on financing;
10) dissemination of hidden political advertising, provided the spending on such advertising exceeds the maximum threshold for political campaign spending by 10 per cent or more;
11) undeclared political campaign expenditure of a political campaign participant exceeding one AME applicable to elections and undeclared political campaign expenditure amounting to 50 per cent of the declared expenditure of the political campaign participant;
12) dissemination of political advertising through foreign broadcasters in violation of the requirements on political advertising set out in this Code;
14) failure on the part of the candidate to indicate in the candidate’s questionnaire the fact of deliberate collaboration with the special services of the former USSR, if it is proved, in accordance with the procedure laid down by law, that the candidate did in fact collaborate with them;
15) failure on the part of the candidate to indicate in the candidate’s questionnaire the fact of a conviction (court judgment) for having committed a criminal act imposed by the court of the Republic of Lithuania or a foreign state with effect after 11 March 1990, regardless of whether the conviction has expired or has been expunged from the criminal record;
16) submission in the candidate’s questionnaire of knowingly false information/document certifying that the candidate is not bound by an oath or a pledge of allegiance to a foreign state and/or attesting the renunciation of citizenship of another state;
17) failure on the part of the candidate to indicate in the candidate’s questionnaire any previous removal from the office of President of the Republic or loss the mandate of a Member of the Seimas, a municipal councillor, a mayor, or a Member of the European Parliament for breach of an oath, gross violation of the Constitution, commission of a crime, or gross violation of this Code.
2. The Central Electoral Commission shall be in charge of taking the decision on whether a participant of an electoral political campaign has committed a gross violation set out in this Article.
3. Having established the circumstances specified in paragraph (1) and having received the relevant explanations, the Central Electoral Commission shall be entitled to take the decision declaring the violation not to be gross.
Article 194. Final provisions
This Code may not be amended during an electoral campaign, except for the cases where it is necessary to implement an Act of the Constitutional Court or a legal act of the European Union.
Annex
to the Electoral Code of the Republic of Lithuania
LEGAL ACTS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION IMPLEMENTED BY THIS LAW
1. Council Decision 76/787/ECSC, EEC, Euratom of 20 September 1976, as last amended by Council Decision 2002/772/EC, Euratom of 25 June 2002 and 23 September 2002.
2. Council Directive 93/109/EC of 6 December 1993 laying down detailed arrangements for the exercise of the right to vote and stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament for citizens of the Union residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals, as last amended by Council Directive 2013/1/EU of 20 December 2012.
3. Council Directive 94/80/EC of 19 December 1994 laying down detailed arrangements for the exercise of the right to vote and stand as a candidate in municipal elections by citizens of the Union residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals, as last amended by Council Directive 2006/106/EC of 20 November 2006 and by Council Directive 2013/19/EU of 13 May 2013.
4. Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 on the statute and financing of European political parties and European political foundations.
5. Council Decision (EU, Euratom) 2018/994 of 13 July 2018 amending the Act concerning the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage, annexed to Council Decision 76/787/ECSC, EEC, Euratom of 20 September 1976.