official translation
REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
LAW
ON THE AMENDMENT OF
THE LAW ON ELECTIONS TO MUNICIPAL COUNCILS
7 July 1994, No. I-532
Vilnius
(As amended 23 December 1996, No.VIII-57;
As amended by 10 June 1997, No VIII-256)
(Žin., 1994, No.53-996, No.63-1234, No.89-1719; 1995, No.7-143, No.18-405;
1996, No.126-2944)
Article 1. Newly Revised Version of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Elections to Municipal Councils
The Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Elections to Municipal Councils shall be amended and set forth to read as follows:
Article 1. The Fundamentals of Elections of Councillors
Members of municipal councils of the Republic of Lithuania (hereafter referred to as "Councillors", and “municipal councils” - as “councils”) shall be elected for a three-year term in multi-candidate electoral areas on the basis of universal and equal suffrage, by secret ballot in direct elections according to the proportional election system.
Article 2. Universal Suffrage
1. Citizens of the Republic of Lithuania who on the polling day are aged 18 years shall be entitled to vote. Citizens who have been declared incompetent by court shall not participate in elections.
2. Any citizen of the Republic of Lithuania who is at least 21 years of age on the polling day may be elected as Councillor.
3. Persons who, with 65 days remaining before elections, have not completed a court-imposed sentence, as well as persons who have been declared incompetent and of diminished responsibility by the court may not be elected as Councillors.
4. Persons who on the polling day are in the active or alternative service, as well as officers, non-commissioned officers and re-enlistees of the national defence system, the police and the internal affairs service, officers on the payroll of other militarised and security services who, with 65 days remaining before elections, have not retired from service may not be elected as Seimas members.
Article 3. Equal Suffrage
Every citizen of the Republic of Lithuania who has the right to vote shall have one vote in a multi-candidate electoral area within the territory whereof he resides, and this vote shall have the same value as the vote of every other citizen who has the right to vote in the same electoral area.
Article 5. Secret Ballot
1. Voters shall vote in person and by secret ballot. It shall be prohibited for a person to vote instead of another person or to vote by proxy. A voter is unable to vote because of his physical disability, may vote with the assistance of another person whom he trusts, as it is provided in Paragraph 5 of Article 63 of this Law. If someone gets to know the secret of another person’s voting, it shall be prohibited to divulge it.
2. Controlling the will of voters in elections shall be prohibited. It shall be prohibited to influence the will of an elector to vote for or against any candidate or the list of candidates. An elector must be provided with the conditions to mark a ballot in secret and without interference. It shall be prohibited to act with the ballot in such a way that the secret of voting might be revealed.
Article 6. Announcement of the Date of Election to the Seimas
2. Elections to councils shall be announced by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania no later than five months prior to the expiration of the powers of the Councillors. If, with four months remaining before the expiration of the powers of the Councillors, the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania has not announced the date of elections to councils, council elections shall be held on the last Sunday from which at least a month remains before the expiration of the powers of the Councillors. Elections to councils shall be held no earlier than two months and no later than one month prior to the expiration of the powers of the Councillors.
3. If council elections must be held during military operations, a decision concerning holding of council elections shall be adopted according to special laws or other legal acts.
4. The day when ballots are cast in polling places of electoral districts shall be considered the day of elections to councils. Voting held not at polling places (by post etc.) shall be carried out on or before the polling day as it is provided for in this Law. The term which is calculated from the polling day and may be implemented only when the election results are publicised shall be started to be calculated from the day of publicising the election results.
5. The date of repeat elections in a electoral area shall be announced by the Central Electoral Committee in cases provided in this Law no later than within 15 days from the day when the necessity to hold such elections has occurred, unless otherwise provided in this Law. It shall also announce the election date in the case specified in paragraph 2 of this Article.
Article 7. Making the Preparation and Conduct of Elections Public
1. Public notice of a meeting of the electoral committee shall be given on the notice board placed in the building in which the electoral committee headquarters are situated, and the members of this electoral committee shall be personally informed thereof no later than 24 hours prior to the beginning of the meeting. The Central Electoral Committee shall additionally inform the mass media through the Lithuanian Telegram Agency (ELTA) about its meetings where the following matters shall be decided: dates of elections; establishment of the number of Councillors; formation and change of the composition of the committees of electoral areas; registration of candidates for Councillor; issues determined by drawing lots; establishment of election results and final election results; termination of the powers of a Councillor before the expiration of the term of office; recognition of the powers of a new Councillor, as well as consideration of disputes concerning the electioneering and violations of this Law.
2. Meetings and voting of electoral committees shall be open, the following may observe them: representatives and observers of parties, political organisations, upon presenting certificates of the established form or confirmed with the seal of the organisations which have authorised them for that; representatives of the mass media, upon presenting employment certificates. A candidate for election as Councillor may participate in the meeting of an electoral committee if: a decision concerning his personal activities or circumstances directly related with his person is being adopted; the chairman of the electoral committee has invited him to participate in the meeting.
3. Persons present in the meeting hall may from their seats record, write down in shorthand or take down everything that is said at the meeting, photograph or film, record visually. It shall be allowed to photograph and film, and record visually when it requires walking about the hall or using special lighting equipment, as well as to broadcast meetings live only with the permission of the electoral committee chairman.
4. Electoral committees cannot hold closed meetings. The Central Electoral Committee may prohibit anyone from entering the workroom of the service staff of electoral committees, document-storing premises, if it is necessary to guarantee undisturbed working conditions of the staff, to protect electoral documents.
5. If there is a reason to believe that during a meeting a threat to the security of an electoral committee or its participants may arise, the chairman of the committee may instruct the police to scrutinise the documents, belongings of the persons who enter into the hall, or to inspect the persons.
Article 8. Expenditures Related to the Preparation and Execution of Elections
The State and local authorities shall cover expenditures related to the preparation and execution of elections to councils. The expenditures of electoral committees related to organisation and execution of elections and the work of the members of electoral committees and the service staff shall be paid with public funds. Maintenance of polling places and premises of the headquarters of electoral committees of electoral areas and districts, expenditures related to acquisition and keeping of the equipment of polling places shall be paid with local authority funds. If a local authority does not provide adequate premises or equipment for an electoral district headquarters and polling places, public funds shall be used for this at the decision of the Central Electoral Committee. In this event the actual expenses relating to polling places and equipment shall, within 2 months after the election, be exacted by the Central Electoral Committee from the local authority without suit.
Article 9. Formation of Electoral Areas
1. For the organisation and execution of elections, one multi-candidate electoral area shall be formed where all citizens of the Republic of Lithuania having the right to vote and living within the territory of this municipality shall cast their vote.
2. According to the proportional system of elections, in an electoral area:
Article 10. Formation of Electoral Districts
1. Taking into consideration the convenience for a voter to reach a polling place and the number of voters, territories of cities and regions shall be divided into electoral districts.
2. The division of the territory of a town, region into electoral districts, which is permanent when organising and holding various elections and referendums, shall be approved and changed by the Central Electoral Committee at the recommendation of the mayor. The Central Electoral Committee shall publish in the Valstybės žinios (Official gazette) a list of approved electoral districts, and changes made therein.
4. The boundaries of an electoral district, address of a polling place shall be changed when necessary, but no later than 100 days prior to the election. In the recommendation to approve the division of the territory of a municipality into electoral districts, the town, region mayor shall specify the following: a proposed name of an electoral district, addresses forming an electoral district, number of voters in the formed district, address and telephone number of a polling place. Changes which are proposed to be made shall be specified in the recommendation to change the division of the territory of a municipality into electoral districts. No later than 100 days prior to the election the mayor shall also inform the Central Electoral Committee about new addresses, changed addresses or addresses which are no longer in effect, as well as approve the addresses and telephone numbers of polling places. if it is not possible to hold an election in the polling place which has been earlier provided for this purpose, at the recommendation of an electoral committee of an electoral area the Central Electoral Committee may change the address of the polling place of an electoral committee of an electoral district even with less time as it is prescribed in this Article, remaining before the election.
Article 11. Electoral Committees
1. Elections to municipal councils shall be organised and conducted by:
2. A citizen of the Republic of Lithuania may be proposed to an electoral committee provided he has the right to be elected as Seimas member (without taking into consideration the minimum age limit set for a candidate for Seimas member, but who is not younger than 18 years of age on the polling day) and has not been removed from the electoral committee or referendum commission during the last three elections to the Seimas, office of the President of the Republic, municipal councils, or the referendum for the violations of laws on elections or the Law on the Referendum.
3. The same person cannot concurrently be: a member of the electoral committee and a candidate for Councillor; a candidate for Councillor and a representative of a party, political organisation for elections (hereinafter referred to as “representative for the elections”); a representative for the elections and a member of the electoral committee; a candidate for Councillor and an observer of the elections; a member of the electoral committee and an observer of the elections. Provided that a member of the electoral committee is willing to be a candidate for election as Councillor, he must, no later than 10 days prior to giving consent to become a candidate, resign in writing from the post of a member of the electoral committee. If the member of the electoral committee has not done so, he shall be relieved from the electoral committee for the violation of this Law and shall be not registered as a candidate for Councillor or shall be removed from the candidates for Councillor.
Article 12. The Powers of the Central Electoral Committee in Elections to Councils
1. The Central Electoral Committee shall guarantee the same application of laws on elections and the Law on the Referendum on the whole territory of the Republic of Lithuania. For this purpose, it shall issue instructions for the implementation of these laws of the Republic of Lithuania, the execution whereof shall be obligatory to all institutions and officers. The decisions of the Central Electoral Committee may be changed only by the Central Electoral Committee or an effective court’s ruling. Institutions of State power and government, Seimas members, Councillors and other officers, parties, political or public organisations, or citizens shall be prohibited from interfering with the activities of the Central Electoral Committee related to organisation of elections or a referendum.
2. While carrying elections to councils according to the requirements provided for in this Law, the Central Electoral Committee shall:
3) accept application documents of parties, political organisations, as well as applications concerning the recall of these documents, examine them, register parties and political organisations to participate in elections to councils, register their representatives for the elections and them with certificates, announce the lists of parties, political organisations which participate in the election, the election numbers provided for them, as well as adopt decisions concerning the recall of application documents of the candidates for Councillor;
4) establish the samples and forms of ballot papers and other documents used during the elections, as well as packages, stamps, and samples for their completion, and the procedure for sealing ballot papers;
7) consider complaints and adopt resolutions concerning decisions of electoral committees of electoral areas and, if necessary, electoral committees of electoral districts as well;
9) declare elections invalid if in the course thereof election documents have been falsified or other illegal actions have been performed which affected materially the election results;
10) issue the certificate of a municipal Councillor to the elected candidate and deliver it to the electoral committee of an electoral area for granting to the municipal Councillor;
3. During the period between elections to councils, the Central Electoral Committee shall perform the functions of the Mandate Committee of Municipal Councils: shall adopt and announce decisions upon termination of the Councillor’s powers; acknowledge the powers of new Councillors elected in a multi-candidate electoral area.
4. The Central Electoral Committee shall generalise the election-related experience, together with other State institutions propagate the importance of free, democratic and fair elections, take care of the education of electors, also keep in touch with the institutions of other states, which prepare and organise elections in those states.
5. The Central Electoral Committee may not interpret the provisions of this Law. If it is necessary to do so, the Central Electoral Committee shall appeal to the Seimas for the amendment of this Law. The Seimas shall consider questions submitted by the Central Electoral Committee according to the procedure of special urgency.
Article 13. Formation of Electoral Committees of Electoral Areas
1. The Central Electoral Committee shall for the period of elections form electoral committees of electoral areas no later than 85 days prior to the elections.
2. Electoral committees of electoral areas shall be composed of:
1) two persons who reside or work in that town, region, have higher legal education, and who are nominated by the Minister of Justice;
2) two persons who reside or work in that town, region, have higher legal education, and who are nominated by the Lithuanian Lawyers' Society.
3) one official of “B” level who works in that town, region and who is nominated by the mayor of that town, region; and
4) persons nominated by parties, political organisations, their coalitions which have received the mandates of Seimas member in the multi-candidate electoral area; and
3. The Minister of Justice, the Lithuanian Lawyers' Society and the town, region mayor may propose more candidates.
4. Parties, political organisations, their coalitions which have received the mandates of Seimas member in the multi-candidate electoral area shall each have the right to propose two representatives (hereinafter referred to as “candidate”) for one such list of candidates (joint list) nominated in the electoral area to electoral committees of electoral areas. The parties, political organisations, their coalitions which, during the last elections to the council, have received mandates of the members of this municipal council according to the list (joint list) of nominated candidates, shall each have the right to propose one candidate to electoral committees of electoral areas for one such list of candidates (joint list) nominated in the electoral area. If the party, political organisation may propose candidates according to the results of elections to the Seimas and elections to the municipal council as well, then it shall propose candidates according to the results of only one of these elections. If one of the organisations, which has participated in the election coalition, does not propose candidates or refuses to propose them, or chooses to propose them according to other, as the coalition was formed, election results, other organisations, which have participated in this coalition, shall have the right to propose candidates in its absence. If candidates for membership meet the requirements of this Law, the Central Electoral Committee may not reject said candidates. In the event that candidates for membership have not been proposed, the Central Electoral Committee may additionally appoint as members of the committee persons who are proposed by the Minister of Justice, the Lithuanian Lawyers' Society or town, region mayor.
5. In all cases, persons who have been appointed to electoral committees of electoral areas from the candidates proposed by the Minister of Justice, the Lithuanian Lawyers' Society and the town, region mayor must make up at least 1/4 of all the committee members. If these people make up less than 1/4 of the committee, the committee shall be enlarged from the persons proposed by the Minister of Justice, the Lithuanian Lawyers' Society or the town, region mayor.
6. If elections to the Seimas or to the municipal council, or a referendum are concurrently held on the same day, the same electoral committees of electoral districts or referendum commissions shall be formed. The Central Electoral Committee shall form a single - town, region, electoral area or referendum - committee in a separate electoral, referendum territory and shall establish its functions in organising and carrying other elections or a referendum.
7. The Central Electoral Committee shall appoint the chairman of the electoral committee of an electoral area. The total number of chairmen who represent parties, political organisations shall be proportional to the representation of parties, political organisations in the Seimas.
Article 14. The Powers of Electoral Committees of Electoral Areas
The electoral committee of the electoral area shall:
1) inform the voters who reside within the electoral area about the boundaries of the electoral districts, their offices, working hours and polling places;
4) distribute the funds allocated for the elections among electoral committees of electoral districts, control the utilisation of these funds and report to the Central Electoral Committee on the funds used for the elections;
6) accept application documents of nomination of candidates of parties, political organisations, examine them, register the lists of candidates for election as Councillors, candidates for Councillor, issue registered candidates with certificates, register coalitions which are being formed or recalled, establish numbers of the lists of the candidates of coalitions;
7) make up a list of health care, social guardianship and care institutions, military units and places of confinement situated in the territory of an electoral area, and together with the head of the post office have care of the organisation of voting by post in those places;
8) draw up the vote count record of the electoral area, establish election results and direct them the Central Electoral Committee for approval; following the decision of the Central Electoral Committee, publish the list of the elected municipal Councillors in the press;
9) consider complaints against decisions and actions of the electoral committees of electoral districts and adopt decisions concerning them; and
Article 15. Formation of Electoral Committees of Electoral Districts
1. No later than 75 days prior to the election, the electoral committee of an electoral area shall establish the number of the members of the electoral committees of each electoral district, which must be a multiple of the number of the parties and political organisations which have the right to propose candidatures. If the number of proposed candidatures is insufficient or there is a vacancy in the committee, the mayor of a municipality in the territory whereof the electoral district is formed may propose the lacking candidatures.
2. The following shall have the right to propose an equal number of candidates to an electoral committee of an electoral district:
1) each party, political organisation or their coalition which has received the mandates of Seimas member in a multi-candidate electoral area during the last elections to the Seimas. If the party, political organisation has received mandates of Seimas member while being in the coalition, it may propose candidates together with the organisations which participated in the coalition;
2) the party, political organisation or their coalition which has received the mandates of Councillors from the list of nominated candidates (joint list) in the last elections to a municipal council. If the party, political organisation has received mandates of Councillors while being in the coalition, it may propose candidates together with the organisations which participated in the collation.
3. If the party, political organisation may propose candidates according to the results of the elections to the Seimas and to a municipal council as well, then it shall propose candidates according to the results of only one of these elections. If one of the organisations which have participated in the election coalition, does not propose candidates or refuses to propose them, or chooses to propose candidates according to other, as the coalition was formed, election results, other organisations which have participated in this coalition shall have the right to propose candidates in its absence.
4. Parties, political organisations shall submit their lists of candidates for the electoral committee of an electoral area no later than 62 days prior to the elections.
5. Electoral committees of electoral areas shall for the period of elections form electoral committees of electoral districts no later than 60 days prior to the elections. If a candidate, proposed by the party, political organisation, meets the requirements set forth in this Law, the electoral committees of an electoral area may not reject the candidate.
6. If no candidates have been proposed or the proposed candidates do not meet the requirements of this Law, or they have been proposed after the set period of time, an electoral committee of an electoral area may decrease the earlier established number of the members of the electoral committee of an electoral district or to address the mayor to present the lacking number of candidates for electoral committees of electoral districts. The candidates proposed by the mayor may not be the members of parties, political organisations or to become such members prior to the expiration of the powers of a member of an electoral committee. If during a sitting not less than three members of the electoral committee of the electoral area shall, while appointing a member of the electoral committee of an electoral district, object to the appointment of the candidate, proposed by the mayor, to be a member of the electoral committee of an electoral district, this candidate may not be appoint a member of the committee.
7. Electoral committees of electoral areas shall appoint the chairmen of electoral committees of electoral districts.
Article 16. The Powers of the Electoral Committee of the Electoral District
The electoral committee of the electoral district:
1) shall receive voter lists from the electoral committee of an electoral area, provide conditions for electors, representatives for the elections to familiarise themselves with said lists, hand voter certificates to voters or distribute them in some other manner, inform the electoral committee of an electoral area about inaccuracies noticed in the voter list;
3) shall, in the manner prescribed by the Central Electoral Committee, supervise the course of voting by post in the territory of an electoral district, and monitor the provision of opportunities for voting by post in all health care, social guardianship and care institutions, military units and the places of confinement situated in the territory of the electoral district; (Amended 10 June 1997)
4) shall, together with a representative of a municipal council, have care of preparing polling places, voting booths and ballot boxes in due time pursuant to the requirements provided in this Law;
7) shall consider the complaints of the voters and observers of that electoral district on issues concerning the preparation of the elections, organisation of voting, vote count, drawing up of vote count records, and shall adopt decisions related to them; and
Article 17. Written Pledge of Electoral Committee Members
1. A member, chairman of an electoral committee shall start holding the position in the electoral committee upon having given a written pledge
2. The Central Electoral Committee shall establish the procedure for giving a written pledge by members and chairmen of electoral committees of electoral areas and electoral districts. The text of a written pledge of the member and the chairman of an electoral committee shall read as follows:
“I, (name, surname), member, chairman of the electoral committee, swear to be faithful to the Republic of Lithuania, observe its Constitution and laws, conscientiously and honestly perform my duties in the electoral committee and refrain from actions violating laws and the rights of citizens.
So help me God.”
3. A written pledge may be given omitting the last sentence. The person who has given a written pledge shall sign at the foot of the pledge. The pledge shall be effective for the whole duration of the appointment to work in the electoral committee. The person who does not give a written pledge, shall not hold the position in the electoral committee.
4. The written pledges of the members, chairmen of the electoral committees shall remain in the custody of the electoral committee which has administered them.
5. When appointing an electoral committee member, the Central Electoral Committee or an electoral committee of an electoral area shall fix the date by which he must give a written pledge. The person who has not given a written pledge within 15 days after his appointment or who has given a written pledge with a reservation, shall be removed from his position in the electoral committee.
Article 18. Organisation of the Work of Electoral Committees
1. Sittings of electoral committees shall be valid provided that at least three-fifths of the members of the committee are in attendance. Decisions made by the committees shall be adopted by open vote of the majority of the committee members participating in the sitting. In the event of a tie vote, the committee chairman's vote shall be casting. Committee members who do not agree with a decision shall have the right to state a separate opinion in writing, which shall then be appended to the minutes of the sitting and shall be an inseparable part thereof.
2. Upon the end of elections, the powers of the chairmen, members of electoral committees of electoral districts, electoral areas shall be terminated. The decision to terminate the powers shall be adopted by the electoral committee which appointed the committee members, when this committee, its chairman have fulfilled all the tasks assigned to him according to the Law.
3. The chairman or member of an electoral committee who has given a written pledge shall be prohibited from any form of election campaigning or attempts to influence the voters' will in any other way. Individuals who have violated this requirement, a written pledge of a committee member must be dismissed from the committee and may be liable according to the procedure established by the law.
Article 19. Appeals Concerning Decisions of Electoral Committees which are Adopted prior to the Completion of Voting
1. Parties and political organisations which have nominated a candidate for Councillor, a candidate for Councillor, representative for the elections, election observer may appeal against the decision of the electoral committee which has been adopted prior to the completion of voting, or any other activity thereof:
1) that of the electoral committee of the electoral district - to the electoral committee of an electoral area;
2. The appeal must be investigated within 48 hours from the filing thereof. Non-working days shall be included in this time limit. The decision of the Vilnius County Court shall become effective after its pronouncement. The appeals which have been filed not in compliance with the procedure established in this Article, shall not be investigated and shall be transferred to that electoral committee which must investigate them. An electoral committee of an electoral area, electoral district may not transfer to the Central Electoral Committee for consideration the appeals which are within their own jurisdiction and which have not been investigated by them.
Article 20. Assistance for Electoral Committees
1. State and local authority institutions, enterprises, offices and organisations, as well as their officers must assist electoral committees in exercising their powers and must furnish them with necessary information.
2. State and local authority institutions, enterprises, offices, and institutions, as well as their officers must consider requests submitted by electoral committees and give the electoral committee a justified response within 3 days.
Article 21. Payment for Work of Electoral Committee Members
For their work in electoral committees, the chairmen and members of electoral committees shall be receive payment at the rates submitted by the Central Electoral Committee and approved by the Government..
Article 22. Changing the Composition of Electoral Committees
1. The chairman or member of an electoral committee may be removed from his position in the committee by the electoral committee which approved the composition of said committee, or the Central Electoral Committee.
2. The electoral committee may consider only the justified proposal of a party or political organisation to recall the member of the electoral committee whom it has proposed.
Article 23. Voter Lists
1. For the organisation and holding of elections, the following voter lists shall be compiled:
2. Voter lists shall be drawn up twice - provisional and final. These lists may be used only for organisation and execution of elections.
3. The procedure for compiling voter lists must be such that every citizen of the Republic of Lithuania who is entitled to vote shall be registered in voter lists. No one may be registered in a voter list more than once.
4. For the organisation of election campaign, at the request of parties and political organisations which have nominated a candidate or candidates, generalised voter lists (without surnames of voters, dates of birth, exact address of residence) may be drawn up. The actual expenditures related to drawing up of said lists shall be paid by the party, political organisation or a candidate who has ordered them.
5. The voter list of the Republic of Lithuania and the voter lists of electoral areas which are drawn up and kept by the registrar of the population register, shall be compiled in magnetic media. The procedure and form of compiling of lists, method of compiling and the procedure for the use thereof shall be established by the Central Electoral Committee.
Article 24. General Procedure for Registering Citizens in Voter Lists
1. All citizens of the Republic of Lithuania who have the right to vote shall be registered in the voter list of the Republic of Lithuania according to the data of issuance of the document (passport) confirming the citizenship, and according to the population register of the Republic of Lithuania. Public institutions which issue documents confirming the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, are responsible for accuracy of entries concerning places of residence in documents of citizens, register the deaths of citizens and the loss of citizenship, shall be also responsible for accurate and timely recording of relevant changes and verifications in the population register of the Republic of Lithuania. Lists compiled according to these data shall be provisional.
2. Compiling, checking and execution of voter lists shall be organised by the Central Electoral Committee on the basis of the information furnished by public, municipal institutions and electoral committees of electoral areas.
3. The following persons shall be struck from the voter list of the Republic of Lithuania:
a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania who has died;
a person who has lost the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania; and
a citizen who has been declared legally incompetent by the court.
4. Provisional voter lists with changes done therein and acknowledged in the procedure established by the Central Electoral Committee shall be not more than 7 days prior to the election approved as final voter lists. Changes in final voter lists may be done only with the consent of the Central Electoral Committee.
Article 25. Voter Lists of Electoral Areas
The voter list of an electoral area shall be made in magnetic media by the Central Electoral Committee according to the voter list of the Republic of Lithuania and the place of residence of a voter indicated therein (the last known place of residence of the voter), and shall be delivered to the electoral committee of an electoral area at least 65 days prior to the election. Concurrently, lists of voters residing abroad and lists of citizens whose place of residence is unknown shall be drawn up.
Article 26. Voter Lists of Electoral Districts
The voter list of an electoral district shall be drawn up by the electoral committee of an electoral area according to the voter list of an electoral area and the place of residence indicated therein, and shall be delivered to the electoral committee of an electoral district at least 55 days prior to the election. A list of citizens whose place of residence is unknown shall be also compiled. Voters - ship’s crew members and passengers who will be unable to return to Lithuania during the period of voting by post and to be present on the polling day - shall, according to the procedure established by the Central Electoral Committee, be registered in a voter list of the electoral district on the territory whereof a ship’s registration harbour or the administration of a ship’s owner is located.
Article 27. Public Announcement of Voter Lists and Access to Voter Lists
The electoral committee of an electoral district shall, at least 55 days prior to the election, shall provide conditions for the voters to have access to voter lists. At the entrance to the premises of an electoral committee, a notice must be posted indicating duty hours of the committee members, and telephone numbers through which the voters may check whether they are included in the voter list. Upon the expiration of the time limit, specified in this Law, for issuing voter certificates, notices indicating the duty hours of the electoral committee of the electoral district and its contact telephone numbers must be also posted in the stairways of multi-family apartment buildings.
Article 28. Voter Certificate
1. A voter certificate shall be a document issued by an electoral committee specifying in the voter list of which electoral district a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania is registered. One cannot vote by post without this certificate.
2. A voter certificate shall contain:
5) the name, number of the electoral district in whose voter list the name of the voter has been included, as well as the address of the polling place;
Article 29. Delivery of Voter Certificates
1. The delivery of voter certificates to voters shall be organised by an electoral committee of an electoral district. A diplomatic mission of the Republic of Lithuania shall deliver or send by post voter certificates to the voters who are abroad, provided that he has informed the diplomatic mission of his address. A voter certificate shall not be delivered to the voter who shall vote in a ship.
2. The delivery of voter certificates shall be noted in the provisional voter list of an electoral district. A voter certificate shall be either delivered to the voter personally or to the other person who lives together with the voter, or to a neighbour of the voter, who knows the voter and undertakes to deliver the voter certificate to the voter. The delivery of voter certificates to voters must be finished at least 40 days before the election.
3. The voter who has not received a voter certificate in due time or who has received a voter certificate with inaccuracies, must without delay inform the electoral committee of the electoral district in whose service territory he is residing, about this and to produce his passport or other document confirming his identity to the electoral committee. If the voter is registered in the voter list of this electoral district, the electoral committee of the electoral district must write out a new voter certificate to the voter and issue it to him immediately. If the voter is not registered in the voter list of this electoral district, but the voter’s residence address indicated in his passport falls within the territory of this electoral district or the voter provides other evidence of his residence within the territory of this electoral district, the electoral committee of the electoral district shall provide a request blank, the form whereof is prescribed by the Central Electoral Committee, to be filled in by the voter to include him in the voter list of this electoral district (or a member of the electoral committee of the electoral district shall fill in this request himself), and shall immediately inform the electoral committee of an electoral area about this, which must have care of registering the voter in the voter list of this electoral district. The voter certificate shall be written out and delivered to the voter upon checking the accuracy of voter lists.
4. An electoral committee of an electoral area may, in the manner prescribed by the Central Electoral Committee, write out a voter certificate for the voter who is on the voter list of another electoral area, provided he is unable to return to his permanent place of residence to receive or otherwise get the voter certificate. The voter must request this in writing and produce the passport of the citizen of the Republic of Lithuania with his place of residence indicated in it.
Article 30. Checking the Accuracy of Voter Lists before Drawing up Final Lists
1. The accuracy of provisional voter lists shall be checked when transferring a voter from one voter list of an electoral district, electoral area into another, striking from or registering a voter in the voter list of the Republic of Lithuania.
2. The voter shall be transferred from one voter list into another if it becomes clear that the address of his place of residence in the provisional list is incorrect or it has changed after said list was drawn up.
3. Transferring of the voter from the voter list of one electoral district into another in the same electoral area shall be executed by the electoral committee of the electoral area and it shall inform the Central Electoral Committee about the changes made in voter lists of electoral districts. Transferring of the voter from the voter list of one electoral area into another shall be executed by the Central Electoral Committee on the recommendation of the electoral committee of the electoral area and shall inform the electoral committees of the electoral areas about the done changes. Only the Central Electoral Committee may register a voter in or strike him from the voter list of the Republic of Lithuania in the cases provided in Article 24 of this Law.
Article 31. Registration of Citizens of the Republic of Lithuania, Staying Abroad, in Voter Lists
1. Citizens of the Republic of Lithuania with permanent residence in Lithuania who are located abroad shall be registered in the voter list of the electoral area on whose territory the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania performs its functions.
2. A diplomatic mission of the Republic of Lithuania shall, at least 15 days before the election, submit to the Central Electoral Committee the voter list compiled in the diplomatic mission, as well as the data concerning checking the accuracy of said list. This list may be supplemented with the voters who will be unable to return to Lithuania during the period of voting by post or to be present on the day of the election, and who shall vote in diplomatic missions.
Article 32. Registration of National Defence Servicemen, Voters who are Aboard a Ship and in Places of Confinement in Voter Lists
1. Voters performing the active service or alternative national defence service shall be included in the voter lists of the electoral district on whose territory they permanently had resided before they were summoned for the active service or alternative national defence service.
2. Officers, non-commissioned officers and re-enlistees of the national defence system and the internal affairs service shall be included in the voter lists of the electoral district on whose territory they permanently reside.
3. The voters who are aboard a ship and who will be unable to return to Lithuania during the period of voting by post or to be present on the polling day, shall be registered in the additional voter list of the electoral district in whose voter list the ship’s crew is registered.
4. Voters who are in places of confinement shall be registered in the voter list of the electoral district on whose territory they had permanently resided before they were placed in confinement. If a person who is in a place of confinement requests in writing, he shall be registered in the voter list of the electoral district on whose territory the place of confinement is situated.
Article 33. Checking the Accuracy of Voter Lists upon Compiling Final Voter Lists, as well as on the Polling day
If following the approval of the final voter lists, but no later than until six o’clock p.m. on the polling day, a voter addresses the electoral committee of an electoral district and submits the passport of the citizen of the Republic of Lithuania with the address of the place of residence recorded therein, which is within the territory of this electoral district, but the voter is not registered in the voter list of this electoral district, the electoral committee of the electoral district shall register the voter in the additional voter list of the electoral district and shall allow him to vote according to the procedure established by the Central Electoral Committee and shall immediately inform the electoral committee of the electoral area about the voter’s surname, name, personal code, his passport number and the address recorded in the passport. The electoral committee of the electoral area shall check if the voter is registered in the voter list of the electoral area and take actions to guarantee that the voter would not be able to vote twice or the ballot papers filled by him will be counted only once. If the voter has voted twice, only that vote shall be counted which was put in the ballot box of the electoral district. The other vote of the voter, received by post or when cast according to the additional voter list of the electoral district shall not be counted.
Article 34. Complaints Concerning Voter Lists
1. A voter or a representative for the elections may, no later than 7 days before the election, lodge complaints with the electoral committee of the electoral district concerning the errors made in voter lists due to which the voter is not registered in the voter list in the manner prescribed by this Law or is registered in several voter lists. The electoral committee of the electoral district must consider the complaint and adopt a decision thereon either immediately or within 2 days of the receipt thereof, if more than 10 days are left until the polling day.
2. The decision of the electoral committee of an electoral district may be within 3 days appealed against in the district court, which shall consider the complaint within 2 days. The decision of the court shall be final.
3. Complaints and comments shall not be considered after the expiration of the term established for filing comments or complaints.
4. Electoral committees of electoral districts shall report to the electoral committee of the electoral area about the received complaints and changes made in the voter lists by the court’s decision, and the electoral committee of the electoral area shall report to the Central Electoral Committee as soon as possible but no later than within 12 hours.
Article 35. Nomination of Candidates for Councillor
1. A party or political organisation which has been registered pursuant to the Law on Political Parties and Political Organisations no later than 65 days prior to the election, may nominate candidates for Councillor.
2. The party, political organisation shall nominate candidates for Councillor by presenting a list of candidates in which candidates are recorded in such succession as established by the party or political organisation. The number of candidates on the list may not be less than 5 candidates and more than the number of mandates, established in that electoral area, plus 5 more candidates. Candidates must meet the requirements specified in Article 2 of this Law.
Article 36. Application Documents for the Nomination of Candidates for Councillor
1. A party, political organisation must file with the Central Electoral Committee the following application documents:
2) copies of its statutes, amendments thereto, and registration papers. The programme, election programme of the party, political organisation may be submitted as well;
3) the list of electoral areas in which the party, political organisation intends to nominate candidates;
4) a power of attorney for a representative for the elections to represent it in the Central Electoral Committee, as well as the powers of attorney to represent it and the candidates nominated by it in electoral committees of electoral areas;
6) a copy of the declaration concerning the last year’s financial activities, which had to be submitted to the tax inspectorate pursuant to the Law on Political Parties and Political Organisations, approved by this inspectorate, and it may also submit a copy of the account (report), which had to be publicly announced according to the Law on Political Parties and Organisations, concerning the budget receipts and their sources, expenditures and their purpose.
2. If the party, political organisation nominated candidates or candidates’ lists during the preceding elections to the Seimas or municipal councils, it shall have the right to submit a copy of the report published in the press, which had to be published in pursuance of the laws on the elections to the Seimas and municipal councils, concerning the sources and use of funds for election campaign.
3. The party, political organisation must file with the electoral committee of the electoral area the following application documents:
1) the list of nominated candidates in which candidates are placed in a numerical order, signed by a representative for the elections of the organisation nominating lists of candidates;
2) written consents of the nominated candidates to be nominated by this party, political organisation in this electoral area, a questionnaire for a candidate for Councillor filled in by the candidate himself, as well as the extract containing the basic data from his income and property declaration, presented to the State Tax Inspectorate, approved by that tax inspectorate to which the declaration has been submitted; and
4. In the questionnaire of a candidate for Councillor, a citizen who is nominated as a candidate for Councillor must fill in the following data himself: name, surname, number of the passport, personal code, date of birth, address of the permanent place of residence, whether his court-imposed sentence has expired, whether or not he is a person who is in the active service or alternative national defence service, whether or not he is an officer, non-commissioned officer or re-enlistee of the national defence system, police and the internal affairs service, who has not retired from service, as well as an officer of other militarised or security service, who is on the payroll, and whether he has the citizenship of another state, - and to sign the questionnaire. The persons who have taken an oath of the citizen of another state must repudiate it in writing and to record in the questionnaire how and then they have done it. Other questions, additionally established by the Central Electoral Committee may also be included in the questionnaire of a candidate for Councillor, and the person may not answer them.
Article 37. Registration of Candidates for Councillor
1. Upon the commencement of registration of candidates, at the request of the Central Electoral Committee the Ministry of Justice shall within one day confirm officially which parties, political organisations are registered, and the activities of which parties, political organisations have been suspended or terminated.
2. Upon receiving the application documents of a party, political organisation, the Central Electoral Committee must not later than the next working day apply to the Ministry of Justice regarding confirmation of the fact of the registration of the party, political organisation and the validity of the submitted statutes. The Ministry of Justice must give a written reply within two days. The Central Electoral Committee shall, within 7 days following the receipt of the application documents, issue the representative for the elections of the organisation nominating lists of candidates, a certificate concerning the registration of the organisation nominating lists of candidates to participate in the elections.
3. While checking the application documents filled in by a candidate for Councillor, the electoral committee of the electoral area shall determine whether the candidate meets the requirements of Article 2 of this Law. When necessary, the Central Electoral Committee may appeal to the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs, Justice or other public institutions to furnish the data important for registering the candidate. Such appeal of the Central Electoral Committee must be considered in the extra urgency procedure, and a written reply must be given within 7 days, but not later than 32 days before the election.
4. Upon checking out the submitted application documents and establishing that they meet the requirements of this Law, the electoral committee must adopt a decision concerning the registration of a candidate within 10 days following submitting of the application documents, but not less than 31 days prior to the election.
Article 38. A Representative for the Elections
1. A representative for the elections shall represent the party, political organisation which has authorised him on all issues in the Central Electoral Committee or an electoral committee of an electoral area. In sittings of the electoral committee he shall have the right of deliberative vote and the right to express a separate opinion on all issues under consideration. The representative for the elections shall, on the territory of the electoral area in the electoral committee whereof he is authorised to represent, have all the rights of an election observer. Upon announcing the date of the elections to councils, powers of attorney by parties, political organisations to represent them in electoral committees may be filed with the Central Electoral Committee not earlier than the next day following the formation of an appropriate electoral committee. If the candidature of the representative for the elections meets the requirements of this Law, the Central Electoral Committee shall within 3 days register the power of attorney given to him and shall issue a representative’s for the elections certificate. The power of attorney for a representative for the elections shall expire after the lapse of 20 days following the proclamation of the final results of election.
2. Until the polling day, a party, political organisation may revoke a power of attorney at any time and to authorise another person to be a representative for the elections. In this case, a representative for the elections must be registered, a certificate must be issued to him, and the registration of the previous representative for the elections must be terminated within 3 days.
Article 39. Electoral Deposit
1. The electoral deposit for registering one list of candidates for Councillor in an electoral area shall be equal to one average monthly wage (AMW).
2. The electoral deposit for changing the place of one candidate on the list, for entering a new candidate on the list - half of the AMW, for joining the candidates’ lists together - 0,3 of the AMW for each joint list.
3. Election deposits for registration of the list of candidates shall be doubled for that party, political organisation which at the preceding elections to the Seimas or municipal councils nominated candidates or the list (lists) of candidates and did not furnish a copy of the report published in the press concerning the sources and use of the funds for election campaign.
4. Within 40 days following the final proclamation of the election results, the Central Electoral Committee shall refund the electoral deposit to the party, political organisation which has furnished it, if the list (joint list) of candidates nominated by it becomes eligible for distribution of mandates in a multi-candidate electoral area and the report on the sources and use of the funds for election campaign, which has to be published pursuant to this Law, has been published in the press.
Article 40. Prohibition for One Person to be a Candidate in Several Electoral Areas or on Several Lists of Candidates
1. Each candidate for Councillor may be entered in the list of candidates nominated by only one party, political organisation in an electoral area.
2. If the person is entered in the list of candidates nominated by more than one party or is nominated as a candidate in more than one electoral area, the Central Electoral Committee shall request him to choose in whose list of candidates he would like to stand for election. If the candidate does not notify in writing about his choice with only 35 days remaining to the election, he shall be struck off all the lists of candidates.
Article 41. Joining of the Lists of Candidates
When not less than 35 days remain until the election, several parties, political organisations may join the lists of candidates nominated by them. In order to do so, they must submit a statement to the electoral committee of the electoral area concerning the joining of lists of candidates, in which the name of a coalition shall be stated. The joint list in which the candidates are entered in a newly established succession, as well as the document confirming that the electoral deposit for joining the lists of candidates has been furnished shall be submitted as well. Only those persons can be put down on the joint list who are on the lists which are being joined together. The name of a coalition must include the word “coalition” and it cannot contain any references to the names of the parties, political organisations which do not form this coalition. The same party, political organisation may not participate in more than one coalition.
Article 42. The Right to Withdraw or Supplement Electoral Application Documents
1. A party, political organisation as well as a person who has been nominated as a candidate for Councillor, may at any time, but no later than 25 days before the election, declare their application documents fully or partially withdrawn. A party, political organisation or election coalition shall notify the Central Electoral Committee about this by a statement, the citizen - by a statement, confirmed in the notarial procedure, and the relevant representatives for the elections in the Central Electoral Committee shall be informed about this. If application documents are withdrawn, the electoral deposit may be refunded only after the election, provided it becomes refundable as provided in Article 39 of this Law. It shall be allowed to additionally submit new application documents when altering the sequence of candidates on a list of candidates or when nominating new candidates.
2. If the application documents are being withdrawn by the party, political organisation that has formed a coalition, the candidates nominated by it shall be struck off the joint list of candidates, and, if the name of the coalition contains a reference to its name, the name of the coalition shall be changed. In this event it shall be necessary to notify in writing the representatives for the elections of the coalition partners in the Central Electoral Committee. If upon withdrawal of the electoral application documents, the candidates of only one party, political organisation remain on the coalition list of candidates, they will participate in the election only as the candidates of that party, political organisation.
Article 43. Publication of the Names and Lists of Candidates, Beginning of the Election Campaign
1. With no less than 30 days prior to the election, the Central Electoral Committee shall announce the list of the parties, political organisations which participate in the election and the numbers furnished to them by drawing lots. The election campaign shall commence from the day of such announcement. The certificates of candidates for Councillor shall be delivered by electoral committees of electoral areas to respective representatives for the elections.
Article 44. The Right of a Candidate for Councillor to Speak at Meetings, to Use the Mass Media
1. After the commencement of the election campaign, candidates for Councillor shall have the equal right to speak at voters' meetings or any other meetings, gatherings, conferences as well as through the National and municipal mass media, and to publicly announce his election program or the election programme of the party, political organisation which has nominated him as candidate.
2. Heads of state power and government institutions, as well as heads of local authorities must help candidates for Councillor to organise meetings with voters, to obtain necessary information, with the exception of the information which is considered confidential according to laws of the Republic of Lithuania and decrees of the Government.
Article 45. Liability for the Violation of this Law
Persons who prevent by force, deception, threat, bribery or otherwise voters from implementing the right to vote or to be elected to councils, and to organise campaigning, as well as the members of electoral committees, other officers who have falsified election documents, counted fraudulently the votes, violated the secrecy of the voting or otherwise violated this Law, shall be liable under laws of the Republic of Lithuania. Legal action shall also be instituted against persons who have publicised or otherwise disseminated false data about a candidate for Councillor or prevented a candidate from meeting with voters.
Article 46. The Right of a Candidate for Councillor to be Relieved from Work or his Service Duties during the Period of Election Campaign
Upon his request, a candidate for Councillor may be relieved from work or other service duties for the period of organising and holding the election to the Seimas, but no longer than for 14 days.
Article 47. The Immunity of a Candidate for Councillor
Without the consent of the Central Electoral Committee, during the election campaign as well as until the first sitting of a newly elected council, a candidate for Councillor cannot be found criminally liable, arrested, neither can administrative penalties be judicially imposed on him for the actions done during the election campaign.
Article 48. The Fundamentals of an Election Campaign
1. The conditions prescribed by this Law to start campaigning shall be provided for parties, political organisations and candidates from the day the election campaign starts.
Article 49. Conditions and Procedure for the Use of the Mass Media
1. Organisations that have submitted lists of candidates for elections, shall be granted the right to use the state and local authority mass media free of charge. The actual duration and time of state (national) radio and television programs allotted for the campaigning shall be established by the Central Electoral Committee upon co-ordination with the heads of radio and television, and shall be distributed in such a manner that the principles of equality of the organisations who have submitted lists of candidates, are preserved. Each organisation who is submitting a list of candidates, shall be allotted no less than 20 minutes of radio and television time and additional time shall be allotted proportionately to the number of the lists of candidates submitted.
2. The actual time and duration of local authority radio and television programmes allotted for the election campaign shall be established by an electoral committee of an electoral area, upon co-ordination with the heads of the radio and television, and shall be distributed in such a manner that the principles of equality of the lists of candidates are preserved.
3. The election programme of a list of candidates shall be published by the electoral committee of an electoral area within 20 days after it was submitted.
4. Campaigning in the commercial mass media shall be restricted only by the size of special election accounts.
Article 50. The Publicising of Material Discrediting a Candidate for Councillor and a Countering Opinion of the Candidate
1. If during the election campaign the mass media publicise some material discrediting a candidate for Councillor (such data may be publicised not later than: in a means of the mass media which is issued more than three times a week, 5 days prior to the election, in other means of the mass media - 10 days before the election, but in all cases the material discrediting a candidate may be publicised not later than in the issue preceding the last issue of a means of the mass media prior to the election), it must provide the candidate with a possibility of expressing a countering opinion, which consists of a short exposition of the publicised discrediting material and the candidate’s reply. The extent of the countering opinion usually may not exceed the volume of the discrediting material more than three times. The means of the mass media must publicise the candidate’s countering opinion within 7 days after it has been expressed, but not later than prior to the 2 days remaining before the end of the period allowed for election campaigning. If the means of the mass media itself cannot publicise the candidate’s countering opinion during the period of time set by the law, it must with its own funds publicise the candidate’s countering opinion in another means of the mass media.
2. The material which is aimed to influence voters not to vote for an individual candidate and which contains information negatively describing the candidate shall be considered as material discrediting the candidate. An opinion about the candidate publicised in the mass media (unlike the information, criteria of the truth shall not be applied to an opinion), negative as well, shall not be considered as discrediting material and shall not entitle the candidate to demand publicising of a countering opinion. A demand by the candidate’s to publicise a countering opinion may not be met also when: the material publicised does not concern him personally; the publicised material about him is not discrediting; the discrediting material about the candidate is publicised by him or by another candidate who is nominated on the same list of candidates or is nominated by the same party, political organisation; the material contains no information describing the candidate; the candidate has already used the right to a countering opinion.
3. If the candidate has duly furnished the countering opinion to the means of the mass media, but it has not been publicised, by the decision of the Central Electoral Committee the candidate’s countering opinion shall be broadcast on the state (national) radio or television and shall be paid for at the price of advertisements. In this event, the means of the mass media must pay the Central Electoral Committee two times the amount of the broadcast cost.
4. If the discrediting material about the candidate has been publicised during the period of time when it cannot be publicised according to this Law, by the decision of the Central Electoral Committee the candidate’s countering opinion shall be broadcast on the state (national) radio or television and shall be paid for at the price of advertisements. In this instance the means of the mass media must pay the Central Electoral Committee three times the amount of the broadcast cost.
5. In all cases a countering opinion shall not be publicised during the period of the prohibition of an election campaign. Publicising of a countering opinion shall not exempt the means of the mass media from responsibility under laws of the Republic of Lithuania.
6. When a countering opinion of the candidate is publicised by the decision of the Central Electoral Committee, the cost of publicising established by this Law shall be exacted without suit from that means of the mass media which has publicised the material discrediting the candidate during the prohibited period or has not publicised the candidate’s countering opinion in time.
Article 51. Prohibition to Conduct an Election Campaign while Abusing one’s Official Position
1. Anyone shall be prohibited from abusing his official position in state or local authority institutions, offices or organisations, as well as in the state or local authority mass media when carrying out any type of election campaign, from instructing other persons to do so, or from trying to exert influence upon the will of voters in any other manner, while using his official position. State and municipal officials shall be prohibited from using their official position in creating for themselves or their party, exceptional election campaigning conditions. An administrative or criminal action may, in accordance with the procedure established by laws, be taken against the official who has violated this Article. (Supplemented 10 June 1997)
2. If a person is a candidate for Councillor, he can use the state or local authority mass media only according to the procedure set forth in Article 51 of this Law. If the fulfilment of their duties requires to announce to the mass media important news, they can do it only at a press conference. The state or local authority mass media can publicise only a recording of such conference, which contains no election campaigning.
Article 52. Election Campaign Funding
1. An election campaign shall be financed from the funds received from parties, political organisations and candidates for Councillor, which are being accumulated in a special election account opened according to the certificate issued by the Central Electoral Committee.
2. The maximum amount of money permitted for campaigning shall be in the amount of 100 AMWs for each list of candidates and 500 AMWs for a an organisation presenting lists of candidates. If the amount of money transferred to the appropriate election account exceeds the established sum, the surplus shall be transferred by the bank to the State budget.
3. The expenditures of the election campaign shall be: the cost of preparing, acquiring, producing or rendering of events, publications, radio or television programmes, as well as items or services aimed at influencing the will of voters to vote for or against a candidate or candidates. It shall be prohibited to cover these expenditures from other than these accounts. Election campaign items and services the cost of which is more than 0,5 AMW cannot be provided free of charge. Election campaign items and services cannot be provided by giving obvious discounts. Those who desire to support a list of candidates or a candidate must do this by transferring funds to special election accounts. If expenditures related to election campaign items were made before the commencement of the election campaign, the party, political organisation or the candidate shall inform the Central Electoral Committee about this, which, upon evaluating the election campaign items, shall reduce the maximum amount of funds of the special election account permitted to be used for the election campaign by the amount of their expenditure and shall issue a certificate that these items may be used during the election campaign. The means of the mass media without the state or local authority capital may indicate which list (lists) of candidates or which candidate (candidates) it supports and later publicise their election campaign free of charge. In this instance it shall not be allowed to remunerate the means of the mass media for publicising such an election campaign in any other way. In the event that single services of the election campaign, the cost of which is less than 0,5 AMW, are rendered for free by the supporters of a candidate, a list of candidates (it shall not be permitted to the individuals specified in Article 51), they shall not be estimated and shall not alter the maximum amount of the special election account.
4. Upon establishing that during the election campaign the payment for election campaign items or services has been made not from the special election account, as well as in cash or indirectly, the tax inspectorate shall recover without suit the sum or remuneration (the sum or remuneration which had to be paid) paid for election campaign items, services from the receiver thereof and shall transfer to the State budget.
5. The election campaign shall be also financed from the State funds. The candidates, party, political organisation shall not pay for the time on state, local authority radio and television allotted to them under this Law, for the printing of campaign poster of a candidate in a one-candidate electoral area, as well as for publishing candidate list election programs, and these expenditures shall not change the maximum allowable amount of the special election account.
6. The utilisation of funds allocated for campaigning shall be controlled by tax inspectorates and the Central Electoral Committee. Parties, political organisations must file with the Central Electoral Committee reports, the form whereof is prescribed by the Central Electoral Committee, concerning the sources of funds and their utilisation for campaigning not later than within 25 days following the proclamation of final election results. The Central Electoral Committee shall publish these reports in the Valstybės žinios.
7. Special election accounts shall be closed not later than within 20 days after the proclamation of final election results. The party, political organisations which have nominated a list of candidates shall, at their own discretion, use the funds that have not been used for election campaigning. The funds of the accounts which have not been closed in time shall be transferred by the bank to the State budget.
Article 53. Prohibition of Campaigning on the Day of Election
1. Campaigning shall be prohibited during the 30 hours preceding an election and on the polling day, with the exception of permanent visual campaign material in the places intended for this, provided that it was displayed at least 48 hours prior to the beginning of the election. During the period of election campaign prohibition no visual campaigning material (with the exception of those issued by the Central Electoral Committee) may be displayed in a polling place or within 50 meters of the building in which a polling place is situated.
Article 54. Establishment of Election Document Samples
The Central Electoral Committee shall establish the samples and forms of voter certificates, ballot papers, posters with data about a candidate (candidates), voucher envelopes and outer envelopes for voting by post, other documents, blanks, questionnaires, official envelopes, packages, seals used in elections, as well as the samples for filling them out.
Article 55. Ballot Papers
1. During the election to the Council, each voter shall be presented with one ballot paper: one for voting for a list of candidates in a multi-candidate area.
2. The lists of candidates shall be placed on the ballot paper in accordance with the election numbers allotted to them in numerical order within the same space and in the same type (types). The type selected should be of a size best suited for the space allowed for inscription. The ballot should include the party, political organisation or coalition names and no fewer than 5 of the candidates’ appearing first on the list, names and surnames.
Article 56. Delivery of Ballot papers
1. Electoral committees of electoral areas shall deliver ballot papers and envelopes to central post offices at least 2 days prior to the beginning of voting by post, ballot papers to electoral areas - no later than 12 hours preceding the beginning of voting.
2. At the diplomatic missions of the Republic of Lithuania, voters must be provided with free access to ballot papers and envelopes for voting by post at least 12
days before the election, aboard ships voters must be provided with free access to the text at least 12 days prior to the election. On ships ballot papers shall be printed according to their description sent via radiogram..
Article 57. Preparation of Polling Places
1. The polling place of an electoral district must be completely prepared for elections not later than 12 hours before the beginning of voting. The electoral committee must also have counted all ballot papers received from the electoral committee of the electoral area and drawn up their acceptance report. In the polling place of an electoral district there must be a ballot box, secret voting booth (booths) where a voter could fill in ballot papers in secrecy. Campaign material or voter information material, issued by the Central Electoral Committee may be displayed and lists of candidates for elections in this electoral district must be displayed in the polling place. The text of this Law must be accessible in each electoral district. The election campaign material, except for the material issued by the Central Electoral Committee, shall be removed from the polling place, passageways leading to or out of it (corridors) and within 50 metres of the building in which the polling place is situated. Working places for the electoral committee members, local election observers must be also arranged. Upon completion of the preparations the polling place shall be closed, sealed, left under the police protection and the chairman of the electoral committee of the electoral district shall inform the electoral committee of the electoral area of this. 2. Other requirements for the preparation of polling places shall be established by the Central Electoral Committee.
3. The chairman of the electoral committee of the electoral district shall be responsible for the timely and proper preparation of the polling place. In the event that the municipality does not allot suitable premises for establishing a polling place, or fails to provide the inventory required for voting, the district electoral committee chairman must inform the area electoral committee and adopt appropriate measures to locate a suitable polling place and acquire the appropriate inventory.
Article 60. Election Observers
1. Parties, political organisations, as well as the representative for the elections shall have the right to appoint election observers. An election observer shall be a person bearing the certificate in the form established by the Central Electoral Committee. He shall have the right to observe elections conducted on the territory of that electoral area or electoral district which is indicated in his certificate. The observer’s certificate shall be issued by:
1) the Central Electoral Committee - to observe elections within the entire territory of the Republic of Lithuania or only within specific electoral areas, districts in accordance with the recommendation of the Foreign Affairs Minister, recommendation of an adviser to the President of the Republic, requests by individuals who represent foreign states or international institutions, and also according to its own discretion.
2) an electoral committee of an electoral area - to observe elections within the entire territory of this electoral area or in one or several electoral districts to citizens of the Republic of Lithuania who are at least 18 years of age pursuant to the proposal of a party, local office of a political organisation or the representative for elections, in which the surname, name of the person, personal code, name of the electoral district (districts) must be indicated.
2. The observer’s certificate shall be issued by the chairman of the electoral committee on behalf of the electoral committee or by any other member of the committee at the behest of the committee chairman. It shall not be allowed to refuse to issue a certificate or delay its issuance, if the person to whom it should be issued meets the requirements of this Law. All refusals to issue an observer’s certificate shall be reported at the next committee sitting and an appropriate representative for elections shall be notified thereof.
3. An election observer shall have the right to demand the chairman and members of an electoral committee, as well as persons who are in the polling place to adhere to this and other laws of the Republic of Lithuania. Electoral committees must take care of providing an election observer with proper conditions at the polling place of an electoral district to monitor the observance of this Law. If an observer violates this or other laws himself, his observer’s certificate may be annulled by the decision of the chairman of the electoral committee of the electoral area, and the members of the electoral committee, the Central Electoral Committee and an appropriate representative for elections shall be immediately informed about the decision.
Article 59. Time and Place of Voting
Voting shall take place on the polling day from 7:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. at the place designated by the electoral committee of the electoral district. The voter shall vote in the electoral district in whose list of voters his name has been included, unless this Law provides otherwise.
Article 60. Prohibition to Carry out other Activities in the Polling Place
It shall not be allowed to carry out any other activities in the polling place, except organisation of the election and voting. It shall also not be allowed to carry out any activities in the passageways leading to or out of the polling place (corridors) and at the entrance to the building where the polling place is situated.
Article 61. Commencement of Voting
On the day of election, the polling place shall be opened only when at least 3/5 of the members of the electoral committee of the electoral district are present. Prior to opening of the polling place for voters, only the electoral committee members, observers and the policeman on duty can be present inside. The chairman of the electoral committee, together with the members of the electoral committee, shall make sure that the ballot box is empty and shall seal it up. After the electoral committee of the electoral district checks that the polling place has been furnished without violation of the established requirements, the chairman of the electoral committee of the electoral district shall register the total amount of the ballot papers received by the electoral committee of the electoral district from the electoral committee of the electoral area into the vote count record, set the seal on ballot papers, distribute ballot papers and the voter list among the members of the electoral committee, register the number of ballot papers distributed among each member of the electoral committee into the vote count record of the electoral district, and open the polling place, thereby proclaiming the commencement of the elections.
Article 62. Voter Identification
1. At the entrance to the polling place, a voter shall present his voter certificate, passport or other document proving his identity and citizenship to an electoral committee member of the electoral district. Upon having established that the voter has arrived at the electoral district in whose list of voters his name has been included, a committee member shall hand the voter an arrival card indicating the numerical order of the voter’s arrival at the polling place to vote and shall show the committee member to be applied to for a ballot. It shall not be permitted to hand several arrival cards to one voter or to hand another voter’s arrival card to him. If upon arriving at the polling place, the person does not have the required documents or it is not clear whether he has been registered on the list of voters of this electoral district, the committee member shall not hand the arrival card to this person, shall hand him a guest’s card and refer him to the committee chairman or deputy chairman to find out about voting.
2. The committee member who is instructed to hand out the ballot papers, having established on the basis of the produced documents that the person who arrived to vote is indeed the citizen who has been registered on the list of voters, or provided that two citizens of the Republic of Lithuania registered in the list of voters of that electoral district witness to this fact in writing to the electoral committee chairman, shall find the surname of the voter on the list of voters, and shall accept the voter certificate and the arrival card from the person. After the voter and the committee member, who hands ballot papers, sign on the list of voters of the electoral district, the voter shall be handed one ballot papers. The voter certificate and arrival card shall not be returned to the voter. In voting by post, an entry shall be made on the voter certificate concerning the issue of a ballot paper, and the voter certificate shall be returned to the voter.
Article 63. Voting Procedure
1. Having been handed ballot papers, the voter shall proceed to the voting booth and mark the ballot papers. It shall be prohibited to mark ballot papers outside the voting booth.
4. Upon the request of a voter, a spoiled ballot paper shall be exchanged for a new one. After a spoiled ballot paper is crossed out and signed by the member of the electoral committee who hands out a new ballot paper, the spoiled paper shall be kept separately.
5. The voter who because of his physical disability is unable to mark his ballot papers and cast them into the ballot box himself, may invite another person (with the exception of the chairman of the electoral committee or its member, or an election observer) to carry out these actions in his place. A voter who has no physical disabilities, which would prevent him from filling in the ballot, must vote by himself.
Article 64. Voting by Post
1. Voting by post shall provide citizens who are not able to arrive at an electoral district to vote due to the health or other reasons with a possibility to participate in elections. Voting by post shall be possible at post offices during their business hours, beginning with 7 days before the election and ending 1 day prior to the election, provided the voter is put on the voter list of the electoral area which is situated in that town and region, and ending 2 days prior to the election, provided the voter is not put on the voter list of the electoral area which is situated in that town and region. Expenses related to voting by post shall be covered by the State. (Amended and supplemented 10 June 1997)
2. The head of the post office shall be responsible for organising of the voting by post. He shall be responsible for keeping of records, issue and collection of ballot papers and voucher envelopes during voting by post. The chairman of the electoral committee of the electoral district, on the territory whereof the post office is situated, shall be responsible for organising of the supervision over the post office work related to voting by post. (Supplemented 10 June 1997)
3. The head of the post office, with the consent of the electoral committee of the electoral area, shall appoint postal workers (officers) for the issue and collection of ballot papers and voucher envelopes during voting by post, who are entrusted with the issue of ballot papers and voucher envelopes. If the electoral committee of the electoral area requests so, the head of the post office must remove a postal worker from work with election documents. Postal workers who are authorised to issue election papers shall be issued by the electoral committee of the electoral area, the certificates in the established form. An electoral committee member, election observer, having produced his certificate for the postal worker, a voter, having produced the voter certificate and the document proving his identity, shall have the right to write his remark on this certificate, and the head of the post office shall immediately notify the electoral committee of the electoral area about this remark. The postal worker who is not in possession of this certificate shall not have the right to issue election papers.
4. Post offices must provide a room (place) where the voter can, without interference and in secrecy, mark the ballot papers and put them into a voucher envelope. Voting procedure may be observed by the observers of parties and political organisations, who have certificates permitting them to observe elections in any electoral district. (Supplemented 10 June 1997)
5. The postal worker shall issue election documents in accordance with the procedure established by the Central Electoral Committee. Together with ballot papers, voters shall be given envelopes for voting by post. An outer envelope for voting by post shall be addressed by the postal worker to the electoral committee of the electoral district which is indicated in the voter certificate of the person.
6. Voting in secrecy, the voter shall:
7. The outer envelopes, voucher envelopes, and ballot papers shall, at least 2 days prior to the election, be delivered by a postman to the homes of voters who are not able to arrive for voting at a post office or at an electoral district on the polling day due to health reasons. Together with a postman not less than 2 committee members, as well as observers may arrive at the voter’s home. The list of these voters shall be compiled at least 15 days before the elections by the electoral committees of the electoral district in accordance with the data submitted in writing by town, regional social guardianship and care institutions and with requests to ensure a possibility to vote at home, which are filled out by citizens personally according to the form established by the Central Electoral Committee. The requests of citizens must be also approved by the heads of town and regional social guardianship and care institutions or by the officers who are authorised by them for that purpose. The requests and lists compiled by the town, and regional social guardianship and care institutions shall be added to the list, compiled by the district electoral committee, of the voters who are not able to arrive for voting at a post office or at an electoral district on the polling day due to health reasons. Postal workers, members of electoral committees or other individuals may not bring outer envelopes, voucher envelopes and ballot papers to the homes of voters who are not registered on the list of the voters who are not able to arrive for voting at a post office or at an electoral district on the polling day due to health reasons. The following may be registered on the list of the voters who are not able to arrive for voting at a post office or at an electoral district on the polling day: I group invalids, persons with a locomotor disability (I and II groups) and the persons with temporary incapacity to work, if they have submitted requests, provided for in this paragraph of the Article, to ensure a possibility to vote at home. (Amended 10 June 1997)
8. The sealed outer envelope (with the voter certificate, voucher envelope and ballot papers in it) the voter may:
9. When a voter casts a vote at home, it shall be prohibited to exert any influence on his decision and to hasten him to vote. The voter who has no physical defects preventing him from marking a ballot paper, shall personally put the secretly marked ballot paper into the voucher envelope, seal it, place the sealed voucher envelope into the outer envelope together with the voter certificate and seal it.. On the request of the voter who, due to his physical defects, is not able to do that himself, this shall be performed by the person (except a postman, electoral committee member or observer) chosen by the voter whom he trusts and who must maintain confidentiality of the voting. The voter may deliver the sealed outer envelope to a postman or post it on the same or another day. (Amended 10 June 1997)
Article 65. Voting in Diplomatic Missions (Consulates)
1. Voting in diplomatic missions (consulates) of the Republic of Lithuania may take place during its business hours, but for at least 4 hours a day. If the voters requests so, the diplomatic mission (consulate) may send and accept election documents from them by post.
2. On the recommendation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Central Electoral Committee shall compile a list of diplomatic missions (consulates) in which voting shall be conducted and shall establish voting days (no less than 10) for each diplomatic mission (consulate).
Article 66. Voting on a Ship
1. Voting shall take place aboard a ship if the ship leaves a port of the Republic of Lithuania at least 12 days prior to an election and does not return until the day of the election, or if other circumstances are such that a crew member or a board passenger who has the right to elect is unable to vote in his electoral district, by post or in a diplomatic mission, They shall vote aboard ship by post according to the procedure established in Article 64 of this Law, except that the functions of the head of the post office, established in this Article, shall be carried out by the captain of a ship, who is a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania, shall be responsible for organising the voting.
Article 67. The Procedure for Voting in Diplomatic Missions and aboard Ships of the Republic of Lithuania
The procedure for voting in diplomatic missions and aboard ships of the
Republic of Lithuania shall be established by the Central Electoral Committee.
Article 68. Voting in Medical Treatment Facilities and Institutions of Social Guardianship and Care
1. Special post offices designated for voting shall be established in medical treatment facilities and institutions of social guardianship and care. At least 20 days before the election the electoral committee of an electoral area shall: on the recommendation of heads of medical treatment facilities, institutions of social guardianship and care compile the list of special post offices; on the recommendation of the head of the post office establish the working hours of these post offices. The head of the institution shall allot the place appropriate for voting and shall be responsible that the voters are notified about the working place and time of a special post office, and that the conditions should be created for voters to reach it.
2. Patients of such facilities and institutions who are in an ambulatory condition shall vote themselves in the polling place in accordance with the procedure set forth in Article 64 of this Law.
3. Inmates of medical treatment facilities and institutions of social guardianship and care who are not able to arrive at a polling place due to health reasons shall be visited by no less than two electoral committee members, observers (if they participate) and officers of the special post office. (Amended 10 June 1997)
4. The voting person must, under conditions of secrecy, personally mark the ballot paper and put it into the voucher envelope. If necessary, he may avail himself of the services of another individual (except those of an employee of that institution, a postman, a member of the electoral committee, or an election observer) whom he trusts.
5. According to the instruction of the head of the medical treatment facilities or the institution of social guardianship or care, it may be prohibited to disturb patients who are in bad condition for the purpose of voting. Such instruction shall be obligatory to postmen.
6. It shall also be prohibited to disturb an individual for the purpose of voting, if a commission of doctors has concluded pursuant to the established procedure of the Ministry of Health Care that he is incapable of understanding the essence of his actions and controlling them at the time of voting because of chronic mental disease, feeble-mindedness, or temporary mental disorder.
Article 69. Voting in Military Units
1. Special post offices designated for voting shall be established in military units of the national defence system and internal service, as established in Article 68.
Article 70. Voting in Places of Confinement
1. Special post offices designated for voting shall be established in places of confinement, as established in Article 68.
Article 71. Counting of Voucher Envelopes and Ballot Papers in Post Offices
1. The records of voucher envelopes and ballot papers shall be kept by the head of the post office, indicating the data of said records in a journal specially designated for this purpose in accordance with the procedure established by the Central Electoral Committee.
2. The post office head shall deliver unused envelopes and ballot papers to the electoral committee of the electoral area one day prior to elections.
3. The post office shall deliver envelopes containing ballot papers marked by voters to electoral committees of electoral districts on the day of the election, but not later than 2 hours before the closing of the election.
Article 72. Organisation of Work of an Electoral Committee of an Electoral District Concerning Vote Count
1. The chairman of the electoral committee of the electoral district shall organise and supervise vote count the committee. His instructions for vote count shall be compulsory and all persons present in this place must adhere to them. He must ensure that votes would be count in accordance with the established procedure and shall have the right to warn any person present in the polling place if he hinders the committee in its work or does not perform his duties properly. The committee chairman shall publicly announce such a decision. The decision shall be entered into the vote count record, and shall be signed by the committee chairman. The decision must be enforced without delay, and if necessary, the electoral committee may consider it only after the vote count record has been signed.
2. All of the data which are entered into the record must be publicly announced in such a manner that all the persons participating in vote count would hear them. If the validity of the ballot paper or the meaning of the marks in it raise doubts, the committee chairman shall present it to the committee members and shall announce voting concerning its evaluation (if there are several such ballot papers, he shall produce them one by one). The results of this voting shall be entered on the empty side of the ballot paper.
Article 73. Keeping of Records of Ballot Papers in Electoral Districts
1. Upon the closing of a polling place, the chairman of the electoral committee of the electoral district, in the presence of at least 3/5 of the members of the electoral committee, shall seal and stamp the ballot box slot.
2. Unused ballot papers shall be individually collected from each member of the electoral committee, shall be counted publicly, the number of them shall be entered into the vote count record. According to signatures in the voter list, voter certificates, arrival cards, ballot papers which have been spoiled by voters and returned to be exchanged for blank ballot papers it shall be inspected if the committee member has handed all ballot papers lawfully.
3. The electoral committee shall count the unused and spoiled ballot papers publicly; annul them by cutting off the upper right corner; put them into the envelopes specially designated for this purpose and seal these envelopes. The number of unused or spoiled ballot papers shall be entered in the vote count record.
Article 74. Counting of Votes of the Voters who Have Voted in the Polling Place of the Electoral District
1. The electoral committee of the electoral district, in the presence of at least 3/5 of its members, shall inspect whether the ballot box seals of the electoral district have not been broken and whether there are no other signs which indicate that it could have been opened or that ballot papers could have been removed in any other way. The electoral committee, in the presence of at least 3/5 of its members, shall decide if the ballot box has been tampered with. If the committee decides that the ballot box was tampered with, an act shall be drawn up about this, the ballot box shall be packed up, the package shall be put under seal and votes shall not be counted. The ballot box shall be delivered to the electoral committee of the electoral area. The decision concerning calculation of votes of this ballot box shall be adopted by the electoral committee of the electoral area.
2. Having ascertained, in the presence of at least 3/5 if the members of the committee as well as observers, that the ballot box has not been tampered with, it shall be opened, all ballot papers shall be placed on tables on which there are no other documents and writing-materials ( except black lead pencils), and the committee shall start counting the votes. Ballot papers shall be sorted out according to electoral areas, then - into valid and invalid ballot papers. Valid ballot papers shall be divided into groups according to the marks made in them by voters. Each group of ballot papers must be recounted at least two times. Ballot papers must be counted for the second time, by other members of the committee.
3. Votes shall be counted in such a way that all persons present during the vote count might observe this procedure and marks made by voters on ballot papers, and be certain that votes are counted fairly and honestly.
Article 75. Keeping of the Records of Voters who Have Voted by Post and the Counting of the Votes
1. After the counting of ballot papers found in the ballot box, ballot papers received by post shall be counted in the following procedure:
1) the chairman of the electoral committee of the electoral district shall present, unopened, all outer envelopes received by post. Their number shall be announced and entered in the vote counting record;
3) a voter certificate shall be taken out of the outer envelope, the voter’s surname shall be read aloud, it shall be checked against the voter list of the electoral
district, and the voucher envelope shall be stamped with the seal of the electoral district. If the person on the voter certificate is not on the voter list; if the voter has already signed the voter list indicating that he has already voted in the electoral district; if another envelope for voting by post has been received from the same voter; if there is no voter certificate in the outer envelope; or if there is more than one voucher envelope in the outer envelope - the seal shall not be affixed and the ballot papers in the envelope shall be considered invalid. This fact must be noted on the voucher envelope (voucher envelopes);
4) in the voter list of the electoral district, the words "has voted by post" shall be written by the surname of the voter whose vote has been received by post and the sealed voucher envelope shall be cast into the ballot box prepared and sealed according to the established requirements;
5) when all envelopes received by post have been inspected, the ballot box shall be opened and the sealed voucher envelopes shall be opened. If there is more than one ballot paper in the voucher envelope, all ballot papers in the envelope shall be considered invalid. Then the votes received by post shall be counted according to the requirements of Article 74.
2. If only one sealed voucher envelope is in the electoral district (committee), it, in order to protect the secrecy of voting, shall not be opened, and shall be handed over to the electoral committee, which has formed this committee, which shall enter the results of the voting in its vote count record.
Article 76. Vote Count Records in the Electoral District
1. One vote count record shall be drawn up in every electoral district and will include:
3) the number of ballot papers delivered to each member of the committee, the number of ballot papers delivered to voters, the number of voter signatures, the number of voter certificates, and the number of unused and spoiled ballot papers;
9) the number of votes found in the ballot box which have been separately cast for each list of candidates;
2. The number of the voters of the electoral district shall be established according to the voter lists of the electoral district. The number of the voters who have been delivered the ballot papers, shall be established according to the voters’ signatures proving that the ballot papers have been received. The number of the voters who have voted in the electoral district shall be established according to the number of the ballot papers found in the ballot box of the electoral district. The number of the voters who have participated in the election shall be established according to the number of the ballot papers found in the ballot boxes of the electoral districts and the number of the ballot papers received by post.
3. If more ballot papers are found in the ballot box than the number which have been delivered to voters, the committee shall take measures to ascertain the causes. This shall be entered in the vote count record, indicating the number of extra ballot papers which were found.
4.. After all data have been entered into the vote count record of the electoral district and all ballot papers have been put into sealed packages, the vote count records of the electoral district shall be signed by the chairman and members of the electoral committee of the electoral district. Following this, the records shall be signed by the observers. Their marks, the separate opinions of the members of the committee shall be attached to the records and shall be an inseparable part thereof.
Article 77. Invalid Ballot Papers
1. Invalid ballot papers shall be:
2) ballot papers sealed with the seal of the electoral committee of the wrong electoral district (ballot papers received by post - without the seal of the electoral committee of the electoral area);
Article 78. The Presentation of Documents of the Electoral District to the Electoral Committee of the Electoral Area
1. The electoral committee of the electoral district shall put all ballot papers, as well as invalid and unused ballot papers, other election documents into packages, inventory them and affix the seal unto them in the manner prescribed by the Central Electoral Committee. The packages shall be delivered together with the vote count record and its annexes, voter lists, records of the electoral committee of the electoral district and financial documentation for the whole period of its work to the electoral committee of the electoral area within 12 hours of the closing of voting, unless the Central Electoral Committee provides otherwise.
Article 79. The Counting of Votes in the Electoral Committee of the Electoral Area
1. The electoral committee of the electoral area shall accept the documents delivered by the electoral committee of the electoral district and shall check:
3) whether all data have been entered in the vote count record; whether they do not contradict one another; whether they correspond to the data available to the electoral committee of the electoral area (the number of ballot papers issued to the electoral committee of the electoral district, the number of voters, the number of outer envelopes received by post); whether all of the necessary signatures are available; whether all separate opinions of the committee members, remarks of observers are attached to the record in which they are specified;
2. The electoral committee of the electoral area shall immediately report the data of the vote count record, its comments concerning the documents submitted by the electoral committee of the electoral district to the Central Electoral Committee, in the manner prescribed by it, and shall ensure the safety of submitted documents.
3. The packages sealed by the electoral committees of the electoral districts, which contain ballot papers, may be opened in the electoral committee of the electoral area only by the decision of the electoral committee of the electoral area.
4. Upon establishing the shortage of documents submitted by the electoral committee of the electoral district, the electoral committee of the electoral area shall take measures to eliminate the shortage, request the chairman of the electoral committee of the electoral district to supply the missing documents.
5. The electoral committee of the electoral area shall count the votes in the following manner: totals the data submitted by the electoral committees of the electoral districts and adds to them those votes cast by the voters by post, which have been counted in the electoral committee of the electoral area.
Article 80. The Presentation of Vote Count Documents of the Electoral Area to the Central Electoral Committee
All documents (except financial documentation) received from electoral districts, voter lists, the vote count record of the electoral area, the records of the electoral committee of the electoral area for the whole period of the activities and other election documents shall be put into special packages and sealed by the electoral committee of the electoral area. Packages shall be delivered to the Central Electoral Committee within the time period established by the Central Electoral Committee.
Article 81. The Participation of Observers in the Counting of Votes and Establishment of Election Results
1. The election observers and also representatives of the mass media may participate in the calculation of votes in electoral districts and areas, and also in the establishment of election results in electoral areas.
2. The observers shall have the right to make remarks and claims to the appropriate electoral committees concerning the violations of this and other laws of the Republic of Lithuania, but they must not hinder the work of electoral committees. The observers shall have the right to make a written protest to the electoral committee of the electoral district, which shall be attached to the vote count record of the electoral district and delivered to the electoral committee of the electoral area together with other election documents of the electoral district. The protest of an election observer to the electoral committee of the electoral area shall be attached to the vote count record of the appropriate electoral area. The protests shall be considered by that electoral committee to whom they have been filed.
Article 82. Publication of the Preliminary Election Results
1. Preliminary election results may be publicised only by the Central Electoral Committee. If the electoral committee of the electoral area delivers the preliminary data of the election results in all electoral districts, the Central Electoral Committee must immediately prepare a report to the mass media. This report shall be submitted to the Lithuanian Telegram Agency (ELTA) in the first place.
Article 83. Complaints against the Decisions of Electoral Committees which Have Been Adopted after the Closing of Voting
1. Parties, political organisations which have nominated lists of candidates, candidates, their representatives for elections, election observers may appeal against the decisions of electoral committees of electoral districts concerning the drawing up of vote count records committee of the electoral area not later than within 24 hours of their drawing up. These complaints must be considered not later than within 24 hours.
2. The decisions of the electoral committee of the electoral area concerning vote count records may be appealed against to the Central Electoral Committee not later than within 72 hours following their drawing up and must be considered before the official proclamation of election results.
3. While considering complaints against the decisions of electoral committees of electoral districts concerning the drawing up of vote count records, electoral committees of electoral areas, in the presence of at least 3/5 of the committee members, may recount ballot papers which are presented by the electoral committee of the electoral district, and, in the event of an mathematical error in the records, incorrectly counted valid and invalid ballot papers, the committees shall draw up an additional vote count record of the electoral district and attach it to the vote count record of the electoral district. The electoral committee of the electoral area shall not have the right to nullify the vote count records of the electoral committee of the electoral district.
4. While considering the complaint against the decision of the electoral committee of the electoral area concerning the drawing up of the vote count record of the electoral area, the Central Electoral Committee may recount ballot papers which are presented by the electoral committee of the electoral area, and, in the event of an mathematical error in the record, incorrectly counted valid or invalid ballot papers, shall draw up an additional vote count record of the electoral area, electoral district and attach it to the vote count record of the electoral area.
5. Parties, political organisations which have nominated lists of candidates, may appeal against the decisions of the Central Electoral Committee or against the refusal of the Central Electoral Committee to consider complaints concerning the violations of the Law on Elections not later than within 5 days, after the official proclamation of the final election results, to Vilnius County Court. Complaints regarding the establishment of elections as invalid or the stating of the incorrectness of the election results shall be examined by the Vilnius County Court during a period of 5 days, The decision by the Vilnius County Court shall come into effect from the time of its publicising.
Article 84. Vote Count Records of the Electoral Committee of the Electoral Area
1. In accordance with vote count records, ballot papers and other documents of electoral districts, the electoral committee of the electoral area shall establish:
2. The chairman and the members of the electoral committee of the electoral area shall sign the vote count record of the electoral committee of the electoral area only after considering separate opinions of the members of the electoral committees of the electoral districts, remarks of observers and complaints of voters. The electoral committee of the electoral area may recommend the Central Electoral Committee to declare the election in the electoral area invalid.
Article 85. The Establishment of Election Results in Multi-Candidate Electoral Areas
1. The preliminary election results shall be established by the Central Electoral Committee after having considered all complaints and established all election results in this electoral area, including of the voters who have voted on ships and abroad.
2. The list of candidates of a party political organisation may obtain the candidate to Councillor mandates (participate in allotting mandates) only, if no less than 4 per cent of the voters had voted in favour of it, and the list of coalition candidates, if no less than 6 percent of the total of voters who participated in the elections voted in favour of it. If less than 60 percent of the total number of voters taking part in the elections, voted for the lists participating in allotting mandates areas, and the right to participate in mandate allotment shall be acquired by that list of candidates, which up to that time, had not participated in allotment of mandates (the lists, if an equal number of voters has voted in favour of them), in favour of which was voted by the majority of voters. In the same fashion, the number of the lists of candidates, who hold the right to participate in mandate area allotment, shall be increased to reach such a number of them, when more than 60 percent of the total of voters who have taken part in the elections, have voted in favour of them.
3. Mandates for the lists of candidates are allotted in accordance with how many votes were received by each one of them, in applying the method of quotas and balances.
4. At first, the quota shall be counted, that is, how many votes are needed to receive 1 mandate. It shall be equal to the sum of votes, divided by 70, cast by voters for the lists participating in the distribution of mandates. If when dividing, a remainder is received, 1 shall be added to the quotient.
5. The amount of votes cast for each list shall be divided by the quota. The received integer quotient shall be the number of mandates for each list according to the quota and the remainders of this division shall be used to distribute the remaining mandates according to the remainders. Therefore, all names of the lists shall be written down in succession in which the first follows the last, according to the size of the remainders of the dividing received by the lists, beginning with the largest. If the remainders of two lists are equal, the first written down shall be the list which have received more votes of voters and if these numbers are also equal, the first written down shall be the list which has received more mandates in all electoral areas. If the number of mandates is also equal, the first written down shall be the list which possess the smaller election number. The mandates which have not been distributed when distributing by the method of quotas shall be distributed by one to the lists according to the succession, beginning with the list which was written down first.
6. If one of the lists received the larger number of mandates than there were candidates on the list, these mandates would be distributed to other lists, further continuing the dividing thereof by the method of quotas.
Article 86. Establishment and Proclamation of the Final Election Results
1. The Central Electoral Committee shall establish the final election results after it has considered all complaints and established all election results in this electoral area, within 7 days following the elections. The Central Electoral Committee shall approve without deliberation, the decisions of those electoral areas, regarding which no complaints have been received within 3 days, from the representatives of any of the election organisations submitting lists of candidates, for a violation of this Law, having essential influence on election results. Following approval by the Central Electoral Committee of its decision, the area electoral committee shall publish the electoral area election results no later than within 2 days of the decision approval.
2. If the Central Electoral Committee changes the decision of the electoral area election committee or adopts a decision concerning a vacant Councillor seat, the Central Electoral Committee shall publish the election results and issue the municipal Councillor certificates no sooner than 7 days following this, and finish no later than within 10 days following the publication of the election results or decision.
3. The Central Electoral Committee shall refund the election deposits to the organisations which have submitted the lists of candidates, who participated in the mandate allotment, with the exception of the deposits for the lists in those areas, in which they did not participate during the mandate allotment. The deposit shall be refunded within 15 days, following the proclamation of final election results.
4. The Central Electoral Committee shall within three months from the proclamation of the final election results issue a book about the election results and shall within four months transfer the vote calculation records of electoral districts and electoral areas, application documents (except the forms for the collection of signatures), minutes of the sittings and the decisions of the Central Electoral Committee, as well as the collection of samples of election documents to the State Archives for unlimited safe keeping. After that the Central Electoral Committee may decide to destroy the election documents which are not subject to safe keeping.
Article 87. The Declaration of the Election as Invalid
1. The Central Electoral Committee may declare the election results in the electoral area invalid if it establishes that severe violations of this Law were committed in the electoral district or electoral area, the falsification of documents or the loss thereof had an essential influence on the election results, and the following essential results cannot be determined from the vote calculation records or other election documents: lists of candidates, participating in allotment of mandates, or it is possible to establish the number of mandates going to a list of candidates only by more than one mandate accuracy.
Article 88. Repeat Elections
1. Repeat elections shall be held, if the election to the municipal council has been declared invalid in accordance with the procedure established by this Law.
2. Repeat elections shall be held no later than within 3 months following the recognition of the elections as invalid. The Central Electoral Committee shall also adopt the decision concerning the extension of the authorisation of the electoral area committee to hold repeat election, to change its composition or to make up a new one. Further, repeat elections shall be held according to the procedure established by this Law. The election deposits of organisations submitting lists of candidates, who have previously registered to participate in elections in this area, shall be counted.
3. Upon declaring by the Central Electoral Committee the results of repeat elections in the electoral area invalid, the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania shall consider a motion made by the Committee on Administrative Reforms and Municipalities regarding introduction of direct rule into the municipality and set the date of new elections to the municipal council. (Supplemented 29 May 1997)
Article 89. Recognising the Powers of Councillor as Terminated Prior to Expiration of Term
The Central Electoral Committee shall recognise the powers of Councillor terminated prior to expiration of term, with the exception of a case, when direct rule shall be applied to the municipal territory per decision by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania and in accordance with the procedure established by laws, no later than within 15 days of the occurrence of a cause for it:
1) upon resignation of the Councillor, namely, according to a resignation statement signed by the same Councillor. This statement by the Councillor, must either be notarised or signed by the mayor and the head of the organisation which had nominated the Councillor, or it should be personally submitted by the Councillor to the Central Electoral Committee;
2) if the Councillor has failed to attend 3 consecutive Council meetings without a reasonable excuse, in accordance with an effective municipal council decision;
3) if the court declares the Councillor legally incompetent in accordance with an effective decision of the court.
4) according to an effective court charge decision namely, in accordance with an effective court sentence;
5) if a Councillor loses citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania namely, in accordance with the legal act concerning loss of citizenship;
6) if it comes to light that a Councillor is in violation of Article 91 namely, in accordance with an effective court decision or sentence;
Article 90. Filling a Vacant Seat in the Council
Upon recognising the powers of a Councillor as terminated, a vacancy occurs in the council for the position of Councillor. It shall be filled in the following manner:
the top candidate who did not receive a Councillor mandate, from the list of candidates according to which the former Councillor had been elected, shall become a Councillor. If on this list of candidates there are no candidates who have not received mandates, the Councillor’s mandate shall be transferred to another list according to the sequence of lists of candidates comprised according to the remainder method of mandate allotment, i.e., that list, which comes first following the list, which was the last to receive its mandate according to this sequence, and the first candidate, not having received his mandate, who appears on the list with the newly-received mandate, shall become Councillor. The Central Electoral Committee must adopt the decision concerning recognition of the mandate of the Councillor for a new Councillor not later than within 7 days after the occurrence of a vacant seat in the council.
2) If the person, who should receive the mandate of a Councillor in accordance with part 1 of this Article, is unable to become a Councillor according to Article 2 of this Law or if upon his becoming a Councillor, the provisions of Article 89 of this Law, may not be applied to him immediately, this person shall then be passed over in the sequence of the list of candidates.
Article 91. Loss of the Mandate of Councillor Due to Co-operation with the Special Services of Foreign States, which has not been Publicly Announced to Voters and a Previous Conviction
1. Each candidate for the post of Councillor must publicly announce about his conscious co-operation with the special services of foreign states, provided that he was not thereby carrying out the assignments of the Republic of Lithuania. He shall indicate this fact in the questionnaire for a candidate for Councillor. An election poster of a list of candidates, issued by the Central Electoral Committee, must contain the following notice beside the surname of the candidate: “Has consciously and not on the instruction of the Republic of Lithuania co-operated with the special services of a foreign state”.
2. If the candidate has failed to indicate this and a court’s decision is valid, whereby a fact having juridical meaning is established that this person has consciously co-operated with foreign special services which was not related to carrying out the assignments of the Republic of Lithuania, the Central Electoral Committee shall not register him, as a candidate for Councillor, and in the event it has already registered him, it shall immediately cancel his registration as a candidate for Councillor. If the candidate has not indicated it and after the election to the council, his conscious co-operation with foreign special services which was not related to carrying out the assignments of the Republic of Lithuania, is proved according to the procedure established by laws, his Councillor powers shall be terminated from that day forward.”
3. Each candidate for Councillor must publicly announce whether, since March 11, 1990, he has been found guilty of a crime, in accordance with a effective sentence by the court of the Republic of Lithuania. He should indicate this on the candidate for Councillor questionnaire. An election poster with a list of candidates for Councillor, published by the electoral committee, must include by the surname of the candidate the following notice: “ Has been found guilty of a crime, by sentence of the court.”
If a candidate has failed to indicate this, and there exists a court sentence, which has come into effect as of March 11, 1990, according to which the person has been found guilty of a crime, the electoral committee shall not register him as candidate for Councillor, and if had previously registered him, the Central Electoral Committee shall immediately annul his registration as candidate for Councillor. If a candidate has failed to indicate this and it shall become established following the elections to the council, that there exists a court sentence, finding this person guilty of a crime, the Central Electoral Committee shall terminate his powers as a Councillor within 15 days.
Article 92. The Entry into Force of Article 6 of the Law on Elections to the Municipal Councils
Article 6 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Election to Municipal Councils shall come into effect upon the expiration of the term of the powers of the Councillors elected in 1995.
I promulgate this Law enacted by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania.