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Law of the Republic of Lithuania

Law of the Republic of Lithuania Law of the Republic of Lithuania 15 June 1994 No. I-496 On Amending and Supplementing the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Referendum The Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Referendum shall be amended and supplemented as follows :

  1. Article 1 shall be amended to read as follows: "Article
  2. The Basis of a Referendum Pursuant to the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, the most urgent issues relating to the life of the State and the Nation shall be resolved and the provisions of laws of the Republic of Lithuania may be adopted by a referendum. Legal provisions on economic issues may be adopted by a referendum only upon conducting an economic examination of future consequences. The provisions of Chapter 1 "The State of Lithuania" and Chapter 14 " "Amending the Constitution" may be amended only by a referendum. The provision of Chapter 1 of the Constitution "The State of Lithuania is an independent and democratic republic" may be amended only by a referendum, provided that no less than 3/4 of Lithuania's citizens possessing the right to vote express their approval thereof. The referendum shall be called by the Seimas."
  3. Article 2 shall be amended as follows: 1) the words "persons, kept in the places of imprisonment on the basis of a court judgment (decision) or in relation to investigation which is being conducted in a criminal case, as well as persons sent to places of forced treatment by a court decision" shall be deleted from Par.3; 2) Par.7 shall be set forth to read as follows: " Any abridgment of the right of Lithuanian citizens to participate in the referendum on the grounds of their sex, race, nationality, language, descent, social status, religion, convictions or views shall not be allowed." 3) Article 3 shall be set forth to read as follows: " Campaigning for the Referendum Citizens of the Republic of Lithuania, political parties, other political and public organisations shall be granted the right to campaign without any restrictions for the proposal to call the referendum, for the adoption of legal provisions or for the settlement of issues of utmost significance for the life of the State and the Nation which have been submitted to the referendum, as well as to campaign against the proposal to call a referendum or the adoption of provisions of a law or any other decision. For exercising the above right, citizens, political parties, other political and public organisations shall be provided with premises for meetings and rallies and they shall also be guaranteed possibilities to make use of the mass media according to the procedure established by the Central Electoral Committee. Political parties, other political and public organisations and citizens may allocate their own funds for campaigning. Chief officers of the national defense and internal service units, and chief officers of the places of confinement shall provide conditions for the political parties' and political organisations' referendum organisation representatives in the Central Electoral Committee to visit, in relation to the issues of the referendum, the units and places of confinement upon presenting their certificates."
  4. Article 4 shall be set forth as follows: "Openness of the Organisation and Execution of the Referendum The Committee for the Referendum shall openly prepare and conduct the referendum. Public notice must be given of all events related to the organisation of the referendum (meetings, sittings), as a rule, no later than two days prior to the day said events are to be held. The Committee for the Referendum shall inform citizens about its work, the formation and membership of region, town and rural district committees for the referendum, their location and working hours, the lists of voters and the results of voting and the referendum. Observers from political parties, other political and public organisations may, upon written authorisation therefore, participate in the sittings of committees for the referendum as well as during the voting and vote calculation in voting districts and during the establishment of the results of voting and the referendum. Provisions of laws or the most urgent issues relating to the life of the State and the Nation which have been submitted for the referendum shall be announced through the mass media. The mass media shall inform about the organisation and execution of the referendum. Representatives of the mass media shall have the right to unrestrictedly participate in all events organised by the committee for the referendum as well as obtain information concerning the preparation and execution of the referendum."
  5. Article 5 shall be set forth to read as follows: "Arti0cle
  6. Expenses for the Organization and Execution of the Referendum. Expenses for the organisation and execution of the referendum shall be covered by the State."
  7. Article 6 shall be set forth to read as follows: "Article
  8. Amenability for the Violation of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Referendum Individuals who obstruct, by means of violence, fraud, threat or in any other way , a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania from exercising his or her right to participate in or organise the campaigning for the referendum, as well as members of the committees for the referendum or officials of state institutions or representatives of political parties or other political or public organisations who falsify the documents of the referendum, intentionally count the votes incorrectly, or violate voting secrecy or this Law in any other way, shall be liable under law."
  9. Article 7 shall be repealed.
  10. Article 8 shall be set forth to read as follows: "Article
  11. The Right of Initiative to Call a Referendum The right of initiative to call a referendum shall belong to the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania and the citizens. The right shall be implemented on the proposal of more than half of the members of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania whereas the initiative of the citizens shall be expressed by the request of at least 300 000 citizens of the Republic of Lithuania who have the right to vote."
  12. Article 9 shall be set forth to read as follows: "Article
  13. The Procedure for Implementing the Right of Initiative to Call a Referendum The request concerning the calling of a referendum shall be addressed to the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania. The provisions of law proposed for adoption or the issue urgent for the life of the State and the Nation which is presented for settlement by the referendum must be specified in the request. Each of the above requests - statements may be signed by an unlimited number of citizens. The signatures of citizens shall be collected on the citizens' signature collection list which shall contain the following text: I, citizen of the Republic of Lithuania, hereby confirm my approval of the request to call a referendum on ... (further full text of the provisions of a law or resolution on the issues urgent for the life of the State and the Nation which are submitted for the referendum is presented) No.Person's Citizen of Date of birth Permanent place Signature surname, the Republic of residence and date name of Lithuania passport number The name, surname, number of the passport of citizen of the Republic of Lithuania, permanent place of residence and signature of the persons who collected signatures shall be recorded at the bottom of the list. The citizen who is putting his/her signature shall personally fill in the list for the collection of signatures. Lists for the collection of citizens' signatures shall be issued by the Central Electoral Committee. The authenticity of signatures of the Seimas members who are submitting a proposal concerning the calling of a referendum shall be confirmed by the Board or the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania. The proposal of the members of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania shall be delivered to the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania."
  14. Article 10 shall be amended as follows: 1) Par. 1 shall be set forth to read as follows: "A term of two months shall be established for the implementation of the citizens' right of initiative to call a referendum on a specific issue. The term shall be counted as of the day of registration with the Central Electoral Committee of the initiative group of citizens of the Republic of Lithuania consisting of at least ten persons possessing the right to vote. The registration deed must be recorded together with the registration. One copy of the deed shall be sent to the Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania no later than on the next day following the registration."; 2) Par. 3 shall be set forth to read as follows: "Citizens' requests - statements concerning the calling of a referendum shall be collected and kept by the initiative group. Upon collecting three hundred thousand signatures of the citizens of the Republic of Lithuania requesting to call a referendum, the initiative group shall draw up a concluding statement and deliver it together with the citizens' requests - statements to the Central Electoral Committee."
  15. Article 11 shall be set forth to read as follows: "Article
  16. Preliminary Examination of Citizens' Requests for Calling a Referendum Upon receiving the documents for the calling of a referendum, the Central Electoral Committee shall check them within fifteen days. In the event that the Central Electoral Committee establishes that said documents meet the requirements of this Law, it shall transfer the concluding statement of the citizens' initiative group together with the citizens' requests - statements and its own conclusion to the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania. If the Committee finds insubstantial deficiencies in the documents or if a very small percentage (up to 0.5 percent) of citizens' signatures are lacking, the Central Electoral Committee shall inform the initiative group thereof and shall establish the period of fifteen days for the elimination of said deficiencies. If the deficiencies are not eliminated within the established period, the request for calling a referendum shall henceforth be considered according to the general procedure. In the event that the term of implementing the right of initiative is violated, the required number of signatures of citizens of the Republic of Lithuania is not collected, or if serious violations of law are established in the presented documents (the signatures of citizens have been falsified or the principle of free will has been violated during the collection of signatures), the Central Electoral Committee shall reject the request for a referendum by a justified decision and shall notify the initiative group and the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania thereof. The citizens' initiative group shall be entitled to appeal the decision within one month to the Supreme Court of the Republic of Lithuania, or, if district courts are functioning - to a district court. If it is established that a citizen has put his or her signature twice or more times for the calling of one and the same referendum, all signatures of the person shall not be counted in. The signatures shall also not be counted in if not all the data specified in this Law has been recorded in the list for the collection of citizens' signatures or if incorrect data has been given.
  17. Article 12 shall be set forth to read as follows: "Article
  18. The Procedure for Adopting the Resolution of the Seimas concerning the Calling of a Referendum Upon receiving the properly executed concluding statement of the citizens' initiative group together with the citizens' requests - statements and the conclusion of the Central Electoral Committee that the above documents are in conformity with this Law, the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania during the session shall consider the issue of calling the referendum at its next sitting to which representatives of the referendum initiators shall be invited to participate. The resolution of the Seimas concerning the calling of the referendum shall be adopted according to the procedure established in the Statute of the Seimas. Should the Seimas state that draft amendments to a law which are submitted for referendum are not in conformity with the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, the issue of amending the Constitution must be considered in the first place. In the event that the Seimas resolves to consider and pass the submitted provisions of a law, the calling of the referendum may be postponed, however the referendum must be called at the sitting at which the Seimas rejects the submitted provisions of a law. The terms provided for in this Law shall be suspended during the period between the Seimas sessions.
  19. Article 13 shall be set forth to read as follows: "Article
  20. The Contents of the Resolution of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania The date of the referendum, the provisions of a law or the specific issue concerning the life of the State and the Nation submitted for the referendum shall be specified in the resolution of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania to call a referendum. The date of the referendum shall be appointed no later than 3 months after the day of adoption of the resolution."
  21. Article 14 shall be set forth to read as follows: "Article
  22. Committees for the Referendum In the Republic of Lithuania referenda shall be organised and conducted by: 1) the Central Electoral Committee; 2) regional, city committees for the referendum; 3) district committees for the referendum.
  23. Article 15 shall be repealed.
  24. Article 16 shall be set forth to read as follows: "Article
  25. The Powers of the Central Electoral Committee in Organising and Conducting Referenda The Central Electoral Committee shall: 1) form city, regional committees for the referendum; 2) issue lists for the collection of signatures for the referendum; 3) establish samples and forms of ballot-papers, other documents, packages, seals used in the election, samples of their filling in as well as the procedure for stamping the ballot- papers; 4) manage State funds allotted for the referendum; 5) supervise the implementation of this Law; 6) register, according to the proposal of political parties, other political and public organisations their respective representatives in the Central Electoral Committee, and issue them with certificates; 7) examine complaints and adopt decisions concerning the decisions adopted by city, regional committees for the referendum, district committees for the referendum; 8) establish and announce the final results of the referendum; 9) deliver the lists of citizens who have the right to participate in the referendum, vote calculation records and other documents of the committee for the referendum to the State Archives for safekeeping; and 10) fulfill other powers provided for in this Law. The Central Electoral Committee may not construe the provisions of this Law. If a necessity to do that arises, the central Electoral Committee shall address the Seimas for the amendment of this Law. Issues concerning the referendum which have been submitted by the Central Electoral Committee shall be considered by the Seimas according to the procedure of urgency or special urgency."
  26. Article 17 shall be set forth to read as follows: "Article
  27. Formation of the City, Regional Committees for the Referendum The Central Electoral Committee shall form the city, regional committees for the referendum at least 40 days prior to the date of the referendum. The city, regional committees for the referendum shall consist of: two persons residing or working in the city, region and trained in the legal profession who have been recommended by the Minister of Justice; and two persons residing or working in the city, region and trained in the legal profession who have been recommended by the Lithuanian Lawyers Society. The Minister of Justice and the Lithuanian Lawyers Society may nominate more candidates. Upon receiving the mandates of the Seimas members in a multi-member electoral area according to the list of nominated candidates (joint list), political parties and political organisations shall each be entitled to nominate from one list of candidates nominated in the multi-member electoral area (joint list) their two representatives to the city, regional committees for the referendum. The Central electoral Committee may not reject the above candidates. If no candidates are nominated, the Central Electoral Committee may in their place additionally appoint as committee members candidates nominated by the Minister of Justice and the Lithuanian Lawyers Society. In any case, persons who are appointed members of city, regional committees for the referendum from the candidates nominated by the Minister of Justice and the Lithuania Lawyers Society must constitute at least 1/3 of all committee members. Should the number of such persons be smaller, the number of committee members shall be increased by appointing an equal number of members both from the candidates nominated by the Minister of Justice and the Lithuanian Lawyers Society. The chairperson of the city, regional committee for the referendum shall be appointed by the Central Electoral Committee. At its first meeting the city, regional committee for the referendum shall elect the deputy chairperson and secretary of the committee."
  28. Article 18 shall be set forth to read as follows: " Article
  29. Powers of the City, Regional Committee for the Referendum The city, regional committee for the referendum shall: 1) divide the territory of the city, region into referendum districts, establish the boundaries and numbering of said districts; 2) inform the voters residing in the city, region of the boundaries of the referendum districts, their respective headquarters and work hours, and the polling stations; 3) supervise the implementation of this Law in the city, region; 4) register, according to the nominations from political parties, other political and public organisations their respective representatives and observers and shall issue them with certificates; 5) draw up vote calculation records of the city, region; 6) consider complaints concerning the decisions and action of district committees for the referendum and shall adopt decisions thereon; and 7) fulfill other powers provided for in this Law."
  30. Article 19 shall be repealed.
  31. Article 20 shall be set forth to read as follows: "Article
  32. Formation of the District Committees for the Referendum District committees for the referendum shall be formed by the city, regional committees for the referendum at least 35 days prior to the day of the referendum. District committees for the referendum shall be formed from candidates nominated by political parties and political organisations which received mandates of Seimas members in the multi-member electoral area according to the list of nominated candidates (joint list). Each of the above political parties and political organisations shall be entitled to nominate for the district committee for the referendum up to three representatives. In the event that no candidates are nominated, the city, regional committees for the referendum may proportionately increase the representation quota for the above political forces. The city, regional committees for the referendum may not reject the candidates specified herein if they are nominated for membership in the district committee for the referendum. The chairpersons of district committees for the referendum shall be appointed by the city, regional committees for the referendum. At its first meeting the district committee for the referendum shall elect its deputy chairperson and secretary."
  33. Article 21 shall be set forth to read as follows: "Article
  34. Powers of the District Committee for the Referendum The district committee for the referendum shall: 1) receive from governing institutions of local governments lists of citizens entitled to participate in the referendum, review and approve them; 2) examine complaints concerning errors made in the list; 3) at least 25 days prior to the referendum submit to the city, regional committee for the referendum the list of citizens residing in the district and entitled to participate in the referendum; 4) hand in or deliver in any other way voters' certificates to the citizens; 5) guarantee that polling stations and ballot-boxes be equipped in accordance with the requirements set forth in this Law; 6) on the day of the referendum organise voting in the referendum district; 7) calculate the votes and draw up the district vote calculation record; 8) consider the complaints of citizens of the district and observers concerning the calling of the referendum, organisation of voting, vote calculation, drawing up of vote calculation records, and shall adopt decisions thereon; and 9) fulfill other powers provided for in this Law."
  35. Article 22 shall be set forth to read as follows; "Article
  36. Lists of Citizens entitled to Participate in the Referendum The lists of citizens entitled to participate in the referendum shall be compiled, announced, reviewed and appealed against according to the procedure applied to voter lists according to Articles 23-30 of the Law on Presidential Elections."
  37. Article 23 shall be set forth to read as follows: "Article
  38. Organisation of Work of the Committees for the Referendum The sittings of the committees for the referendum shall be valid if no less than 3/5 of the committee members participate therein. Decisions of committees shall be adopted by even ballot by the majority vote of committee members present at the sitting. In the event of a tie vote, the vote of the committee chairperson shall be decisive. The committee members who disagree with the decision shall have the right to express their individual opinion in writing, which shall be appended to the minutes. Upon the completion of voting, the district committee for the referendum, the city, regional committees for the referendum may adopt decisions only concerning the drawing up of vote calculation records. After the formation of committees for the referendum their chairpersons and members shall be prohibited from campaigning in any form for the referendum or from attempting to influence in any other manner the will of the citizens. Persons who do not comply with this requirement may be removed from the committee."
  39. The Law shall be supplemented with the following Article 23-1: "Article 23-1 . Complaints against the Decisions of Committees for the Referendum Authorised representatives of political parties and other political or public organisations may appeal against the decisions adopted prior to the completion of voting: 1) to the city, regional committee, if the decision was adopted by the district committee; 2) to the Central Electoral Committee, if the decision was adopted by the city, regional committee; and 3) to the Supreme Court, if the decision was adopted by the Central Electoral Committee. The above complaints must be examined within 48 hours from the filing thereof. Days off shall also be included in the term. The decision of the supreme court shall be decisive."
  40. Article 25 shall be set forth as follows: "Article
  41. Support for the Committees for the Referendum State institutions, enterprises, institutions and organisations and their officers must assist committees for the referendum to implement their powers and to furnish them with the required information. State institutions, enterprises, institutions and organisations and their respective officers must no later than within 3 days consider the requests submitted by the committees for the referendum and give the committee for the referendum a justified answer. The committees for the referendum may employ the required number of personnel for performing auxiliary work. Local governments, State institutions and organisations must provide committees for the referendum with premises and equipment for preparing for and conducting the referendum."
  42. The Law shall be supplemented with the following Articles 25-1 and 25-2: "Article 25-
  43. Remuneration of the Committee for the Referendum Members The chairpersons and members of committees for the referendum shall be paid a salary in accordance with the rates submitted by the Central Electoral Committee and approved by the Government. The chairpersons and members of the committees for the referendum who are employed in enterprises, organisations and who do not receive their salaries by reason of their work in the committees for the referendum shall be paid by the State sums in the amount of average wages paid in their respective places of employment. Article 25-
  44. Replacing the Members of the Committees for the Referendum. The chairpersons and members of the committees for the referendum may be dismissed from the committees by the institution which approved the composition of the committee. As necessary, a new chairperson or member of the committee for the referendum shall be appointed according to the procedure established in this Law."
  45. Article 26 shall be repealed.
  46. The Law shall be supplemented with the following Chapter IV: "Chapter IV PREPARATORY ACTIVITIES FOR THE ORGANISATION OF THE REFERENDUM Article 26-
  47. Establishment of Sample Documents for the Referendum The samples and forms of voters' certificates, ballot- papers, voucher envelopes and outer envelopes for postal voting, other official envelopes, packages, documents and seals as well as samples of filing thereof shall be established by the Central Electoral Committee. Article 26-
  48. Referendum Ballot-papers The ballot-paper shall contain an address to the citizen and two variants of the answer "Yes" and "No". In the event that several provisions of a law are submitted for the referendum, voting by a separate ballot-paper shall be held on each provision. If two or several referenda are conducted at the same time, the ballot-papers of each referendum must be of different colour. The form of the ballot-paper and the sample of filing thereof shall be established by the Central Electoral Committee. Article 26-
  49. Delivery of Referendum Ballot-papers Referendum ballot-papers and envelopes shall be delivered to the referendum districts and post offices at least 7 days prior to the referendum. At the diplomatic missions and ships of the Republic of Lithuania, referendum ballot-papers and envelopes for postal voting must be freely accessible to the citizens at least 10 days prior to the referendum. The Central Electoral Committee shall be responsible for the printing and delivery of ballot-papers for the referendum and envelopes for postal voting within the above-specified period of time." Article 26-
  50. Voters' Certificate Numbered voters' certificates shall be issued by the district committees for the referendum. The following shall be stated in the voters' certificates: 1) number of the city, regional committee for the referendum; 2) citizen's name, surname; 3) citizen's date of birth (year, month, day); 4) citizen's address; and 5) the address of the district in the lists whereof the citizen's name has been included. Article 26-
  51. Delivery of Voters' Certificates to Citizens Voters' certificates must be delivered to the citizens at least 10 days prior to the day of the referendum. If the voters' certificate is not delivered through the fault of the committee for the referendum, it must be issued immediately upon the citizen's request. A citizen who has been issued with an inaccurate voters' certificate or has not been issued with any voters' certificate due to an error in the list of voters, shall be issued with a correct voters' certificate immediately after the rectification of the mistake. Article 26-
  52. A Copy of the Voters' Certificate Upon submitting a written request, a citizen may be issued with a copy of the voters' certificate. Voters' certificates shall not be issued on the day of the referendum."
  53. The former Chapter IV of the Law shall be divided into the following two chapters: V. Voting (up to Article 30) and VI. Vote Calculation and Establishment of Results of the Referendum (beginning with Article 30).
  54. Article 27 shall be set forth to read as follows: "Article
  55. Time and Place of Voting Voting shall be held on the day of the referendum from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. in the polling place designated by the committee for the referendum. A citizen shall vote only in the referendum district in whose list of voters his/her name has been included. A citizen's vote received by mail shall be valid only in the referendum district in whose list of voters his/her name has been included."
  56. Article 28 shall be set forth to read as follows: "Article
  57. Preparation of Polling Places The requirements for the preparation of polling places shall be established by the Central Electoral Committee. Voting booths must be set up so that the voter inside the booth is not visible to anyone. The text of all provisions of a law submitted for the referendum must be accessible to all citizens in every referendum district. No other events, except the referendum, may be held in the polling place. "
  58. The Law shall be supplemented with the following Articles 28-1 and 28-2: "Article 28-
  59. Commencement of Voting On the day of the referendum, the polling place shall be opened only when at least 3/5 of the district committee for the referendum are present. Then, the chairperson of the district committee for the referendum, together with the committee members shall ascertain than the ballot-box is empty, and shall seal it. Having checked that the polling place has been furnished without violating the established requirements, the chairperson of the district committee for the referendum shall register in the vote calculation record the number of ballot-papers received at the district, distribute the ballot-papers and lists of voters among the members of the committee, record in the vote calculation record of the referendum district the total number of ballot- papers distributed to each member of the electoral committee, and open the polling place, thus proclaiming the commencement of the referendum. Article 28-
  60. Voter Identification Upon arriving at the polling place, citizens shall present to a member of the committee for the referendum their voters' certificates as well as their passports or other documents certifying their identity and citizenship, and shall sign in on the list of the referendum. Voters' certificates shall not be returned to citizens. Citizens shall be issued with ballot-papers for the referendum only after having signed in. In postal voting a note concerning the issue of the ballot- paper shall be recorded on the voters' certificate which shall then be returned to the citizen. It shall be prohibited to issue a citizen with another person's ballot paper for the referendum. Any committee member who violates the requirement shall be liable under law."
  61. Article
  62. Voting Procedure Upon being issued with a ballot-paper, the citizen shall go into the voting booth where he/she shall mark the ballot-paper. A citizen may enter the voting booth and stay here only without anyone accompanying him/her. Exceptions may be made only in the case provided for in Par. 6 hereof. The citizen participating in the referendum shall mark one of the answers recorded in the ballot-paper: "Yes" or "No". If two or more referenda are conducted simultaneously, the person participating in the referendum shall be issued with and mark separate ballot-papers for each referendum. Citizens shall personally cast their marked ballot-papers into the ballot-box. At the citizen's request, a faulty ballot-paper shall be exchanged for a new one. The chairperson of the committee for the referendum shall cross the faulty ballot-paper in ink (with a ball-point pen) and sign on it. The secretary of the committee for the referendum and one of the committee members shall also sign on the faulty ballot-paper for the referendum. Faulty ballot-papers shall be kept separately. Citizens who are physically unable to mark their ballot- papers or cast them into the ballot-box may designate another person to mark the ballot-papers in the voting booth and to cast them into the ballot-box. The chairperson and members of the committee for the referendum as well as referendum observers shall be prohibited from carrying out the above actions for the citizens."
  63. The Law shall be supplemented with the following Articles 29-1, 29-2, 29-3, 29-4, 29-5, 29-6, 29-7: "Article 29-
  64. Postal Voting Postal voting shall be possible at post offices during their work hours, beginning from the seventh day before the referendum and ending one day before the referendum if the citizen has been included in the list of voters of the city, region, or two days before the referendum if the citizen has not been included in the list of voters of the city, region. Expenses related to postal voting shall be covered by the State. The head of the post office shall be responsible for the organisation of postal voting. He or she shall also be responsible for the issue and collection of ballot-papers for the referendum and voucher envelopes during postal voting. A responsible officer shall be appointed for the issue and collection of ballot-papers for the referendum and voucher envelopes. Post offices must provide premises (a place) where citizens can, without interference, mark their referendum ballot-papers and put them into voucher envelopes. Postal voting shall be conducted in accordance with the procedure set forth in Article 28-2 and 29, with the exception of casting ballot-papers into the ballot-box. Together with referendum ballot-papers, citizens shall be given envelopes for postal voting. Citizens shall put marked referendum ballot-papers into the voucher envelopes, seal the voucher envelopes, put the envelopes together with their voters' certificates into the outer envelopes and seal the outer envelopes. The outer envelopes shall be stamped with the post office seal. Envelopes for postal voting shall be addressed to the committee for the referendum of the district on whose list of voters the citizen is registered. At least 2 days prior to the referendum, a postal worker shall bring outer envelopes, voucher envelopes, and referendum ballot-papers to the homes of citizens who cannot move. The district committee for the referendum shall, no later than 7 days before the referendum, draw up the list of citizens who are unable to move, on the basis of the data presented to them in writing, by the social care and assistance institutions of the city, district. Post office employees, members of the committees for the referendum or other persons may not deliver the outer envelopes, voucher envelopes, and referendum ballot-papers to the homes of citizens who are not on the list of citizens who are unable to move. The citizen may: 1) hand the sealed outer envelope (with the voters' certificate, voucher envelope and ballot-paper inside) to a postal officer; 2) hand the sealed outer envelope to the postal worker who deliv- ered the referendum documents; or 3) put the sealed outer envelope into a post-box. Article 29-2 . Voting at the Diplomatic Missions and on Board the Ships of the Republic of Lithuania The procedure of voting at the diplomatic missions and on board the ships of the Republic of Lithuania shall be established by the Central Electoral Committee. Article 29-
  65. Voting in Medical Facilities and Institutions of Social Care and Assistance Special post offices designated for voting shall be established in medical facilities and institutions of social care and assistance. Patients of such facilities who are able to move shall vote themselves in accordance with the procedure set forth in Article 29-1 of this Law. Inmates of health facilities and institutions of care who are unable to move shall be visited by officers of special post offices who shall be approved by the city, district committees for the referendum. The voting person must, in the conditions of privacy provided for him or her, personally mark the referendum ballot-paper and put it into the voucher envelope. If necessary, the person may be assisted by an individual whom he or she trusts (with the exception of post officers, employees of health facilities and institutions of care, and referendum observers). On the instructions of the head of a health facility or institution of social care or assistance, it may be prohibited to disturb a person who is in bad condition for the purpose of voting. Such instructions shall be obligatory to the committees for the referendum. It shall be prohibited to disturb persons for the purpose of voting if a commission of doctors concludes, pursuant to the procedure established by the Ministry of Health Care, that, during the voting, the individual, by reason of mental disease, imbecility or short-time mental disorder, is incapable of understanding the essence of his or her actions and controlling them. Article 29-
  66. Voting in Military Units Special post offices, designated for voting shall be established in military units of the national defence system and internal service. If possible, chief officers of military and internal service units shall provide conditions for the servicemen to vote in the referendum districts of their permanent place of residence. Article 29-
  67. Voting in Places of Imprisonment Special post offices designated for voting shall be established in places of imprisonment. Article 29-
  68. Records of Voucher Envelopes and Ballot-Papers in the Referendum Districts Upon the closing of a polling place, the chairperson of the district committee for the referendum, in the presence of at least 3/5 of the committee for the referendum members, shall seal up and stamp the slit in the ballot-box, collect the unused ballot-papers from each member of the district committee for the referendum individually, record their number in the vote calculation record, publicly count said ballot-papers and check, according to the signatures in the citizens' list, voters' certificates, that no ballot-papers have been issued unlawfully. The committee for the referendum shall publicly count the unused and faulty ballot-papers, annul them by cutting off the upper right-hand corner, place them in envelopes designated for the purpose, and seal the envelopes. The number of unused and faulty ballot-papers shall be recorded in the vote calculation record."
  69. Article 30 shall be set forth as follows: "Article
  70. Calculation of Votes in the Referendum District and Records of Citizens who have voted. The district committee for the referendum, with at least 3/5 of its members participating, shall inspect the district ballot- box: they shall confirm that the seals have not been broken and that there is no other evidence which indicates that the ballot- box could have been opened or that ballot-papers could have been removed in any other manner. The committee, with at least 3/5 of its members participating, shall decide whether or not the ballot-box has been tampered with. If the committee comes to the decision that the ballot-box has been tampered with, a written statement thereon shall be made, and the votes shall not be tallied. Having ascertained that the ballot-box has not been tampered with, the ballot-box shall be opened in the presence of observers and at least 3/5 of the committee members, all the ballot-papers shall be placed on the tables which are clear of any other documents and writing instruments and the calculation of votes shall begin. Votes shall be calculated so that all persons present during the procedure are able to observe all of the ballot-papers marked by the citizens. The specific vote calculation procedure shall be established by the Central Electoral Committee. The number of citizens residing in the referendum district and entitled to participate in the referendum shall be established according to the referendum lists. The number of citizens who have been issued with ballot-papers shall be established according to the citizens' signatures evidencing that the ballot-paper has been received. The number of citizens who have voted in the referendum district shall be established according to the number of ballot-papers found in the district referendum ballot-box. The number of citizens who have taken part in the referendum shall be established according to the number of ballot-papers found in the district referendum ballot-box and the number of ballot-papers received by post. Upon finding more ballot-papers in the ballot-box than were issued to the citizens, the committee shall take appropriate measures to establish reasons therefor. The results of vote calculation shall be entered in the vote calculation record."
  71. The Law shall be supplemented with the following Articles 30-1, 30-2, 30-3, and 30-4: "Article 30-
  72. Records of Citizens who Voted by Mail and Vote Calculation Upon counting all the ballot-papers found in the ballot-box, the calculation of votes received by post shall commence: 1) the chairperson of the district committee for the referendum shall present, unopened, all outer envelopes received by post. Their number shall be entered in the vote calculation record; 2) outer envelopes shall be opened one at a time; 3) voters' certificates shall be taken out of the outer envelopes and checked against the referendum list of the district, while the voucher envelope shall be sealed with the stamp of the referendum district. If the person on the voters' certificate is not on the list, or if the citizen has already signed the list indicating that he/she has already voted in the district, or if another envelope of postal voting has been received from the same citizen, or if there is no voters' certificate in the outer envelope, or if the outer envelope contains more than one voucher envelope, the seal shall not be affixed and the ballot-paper in the envelope shall be considered invalid. The fact must be noted on the outer envelope; 4) in the district list a special record shall be made by the surname of the citizen whose vote has been received by post; 5) the sealed voucher envelope shall be cast into a ballot- box installed according to the established requirements; 6) when all envelopes received by post are gone over in this way. the ballot-box shall be opened, the sealed voucher envelopes shall be unsealed, the votes received by post shall be counted according to the requirements set forth in Article
  73. If there is more than one ballot-paper in the voucher envelope, all ballot-papers in the envelope shall be declared invalid. If there is only one sealed voucher envelope in the referendum district committee, in order not to violate the secrecy of voting it shall not be unsealed but shall be referred to a superior committee for the referendum, which shall enter the results of voting into its vote calculation record. Article 30-
  74. Vote Calculation Records of the Referendum District One vote calculation record shall be drawn up for every referendum district. The vote calculation record shall include: 1) the number of citizens in the referendum district who are entitled to participate in the referendum; 2) the number of ballot-papers received from the city, regional committees for the referendum; 3) the number of the referendum ballot-papers issued to each member of the committee, the number of ballot-papers issued to the citizens, the number of citizens' signatures, the number of voters' certificates, the number of unused ballot-papers; 4) the number of unused referendum ballot-papers; 5) the number of citizens who voted in the polling place of the referendum district; 6) the time at which the ballot-box was opened; 7) the number of invalid referendum ballot-papers found in the ballot-box; 8) the number of valid referendum ballot-papers found in the ballot-box; 9) the number of answers "Yes" and "No" to each question or statement submitted for the referendum found in the ballot-box; 10) the number of votes received by post and the number of sealed voucher envelopes; 11) the number of invalid referendum ballot-papers received by post; 12) the number of valid referendum ballot-papers received by post; 13) the number of answers "Yes" and "No received by post for each question or statement submitted for the referendum; 14) the total number of citizens who took part in the referendum in the referendum district; 15) the total number of invalid ballot-papers in the referendum district; and 16) the total number of answers "Yes" and "No" given for each question or statement submitted for the referendum. If the number of ballot-papers found in the ballot-box exceeds the number of ballot-papers issued to the citizens, an entry to that effect shall be made in the vote calculation record, specifying the number of ballot-papers found in excess. The vote calculation record of the referendum district shall be signed by the chairperson and members of the committee for the referendum. Then the records shall be signed by the observers. Commentary of the observers and the opinions of the committee members shall be attached to the records and shall constitute an inseparable part thereof. Article 30-
  75. Invalid Ballot-papers The following ballot-papers shall be deemed invalid: 1) ballot-papers of an unestablished sample; 2) ballot-papers sealed with the stamp of the wrong referendum district or unsealed ballot-papers; 3) ballot-papers in which the citizen has marked both answers "Yes" and "No" to one question or statement; or 4) ballot-papers in which the citizen has not marked either the "Yes" or the "No" in answer to a question or statement. The decision to declare a ballot-paper invalid shall be adopted by the district committee for the referendum. Article 30-
  76. Presentation of the District Vote Calculation Documents to the City, Regional Committee for the Referendum The district committee for the referendum shall put all referendum ballot-papers, including invalid and faulty ones, all voucher envelopes, the vote calculation record, the referendum lists and other documents of the referendum into a package and seal it according to the procedure established by the Central Electoral Committee. The package shall be delivered to the city regional committee for the referendum , no later than within 6 hours from the end of the referendum. The Central Electoral Committee and the Ministry of Internal Affairs must ensure the delivery of the referendum documents and the safety of persons who are delivering said documents."
  77. Article 31 shall be set forth to read as follows: "Article
  78. Calculation of Votes at the City, Regional Committee for the Referendum The city, regional committee for the referendum shall commence the calculation of votes upon receiving all vote calculation records and other referendum documents from all referendum districts."
  79. The Law shall be supplemented with the following Articles 31-1 and 31-2: "Article 31-
  80. City, Regional Vote Calculation Record In accordance with the vote calculation records of referendum districts, referendum ballot-papers and other referendum documents, the city, regional committee for the referendum shall establish: 1) the number of citizens who took part in the referendum in the city, region, which equals the number of citizens who cast their vote in the referendum districts of the city, region; 2) the number of invalid ballot-papers in the city, region which equals the number of invalid ballot-papers in the referendums districts of the city, region; 3) the number of ballot-papers valid in the city, region which corresponds to the number of ballot-papers valid in the referendum districts of the city, region; and 4) the number of answers "Yes" and "No" to each question or statement. The number is obtained by summing up separately the "Yes" and "No" answers in the referendum districts. The information shall be recorded in the vote calculation records of cities, regions which shall be signed by the chairperson and members of the city, regional committee for the referendum. Article 31-
  81. Presentation of the Vote Calculation Results of Cities, Regions to the Central Electoral Committee The city, regional committees for the referendum shall put all documents received from the referendum districts, the district vote calculation records, the vote calculation record of the city, region and other referendum documents into special packages, seal the packages and deliver them to the Central Electoral Committee no later than within 36 hours after the end of the referendum."
  82. Article 32 shall be set forth to read as follows: "Article
  83. Establishment of the Referendum Results in the Republic of Lithuania The Central Electoral Committee may commence the establishment of the referendum results only upon receiving vote calculation records of all city and regional committees for the referendum as well as other referendum documents specified in Article 31-2 of this Law. The Central Electoral Committee shall establish in accordance with the vote calculation records of the city, regional committees for the referendum and vote calculation records of diplomatic missions: 1) the number of citizens of the Republic of Lithuania which have the right to take part in the referendum; 2) the number of citizens who took part in the referendum; 3) the number of invalid referendum ballot-papers; 4) the number of valid referendum ballot-papers; and 5) the number of answers "Yes" and "No" given to each question or statement. When examining the appeals filed pursuant to this Law, the Central Electoral Committee may calculate anew the referendum ballot-papers and, upon establishing arithmetic errors, may correct the entries in the vote calculation records. The Central Electoral Committee may not declare invalid vote calculation records of referendum districts, or city, regional committees for the referendum because of the errors found in the vote calculation records. The Central Electoral Committee may declare the election results as invalid if it establishes that gross violations of this Law committed during the voting or falsification of documents had a decisive influence on the election results. Provisions of a law of the Republic of Lithuania or any other decision shall be deemed adopted by referendum if more than half of the citizens included in the lists approved thereof during the referendum. If less than half of the citizens included in the lists took part in the referendum, the referendum shall be considered not to have taken place."
  84. The Law shall be supplemented with the following Article 32-1, 32-2 and 32-3: "Article 32-
  85. Participation of Observers in the Calculation of Votes and Establishment of the Referendum Results Observers appointed by political parties and other political and public organisations as well as representatives of the mass media may participate in the calculation of votes in the referendum districts and city, regional committees for the referendum, and in the establishment of the referendum results in the Central Electoral Committee. Observers shall have the right to make commentaries and claims to the committees for the referendum concerning the violations of this and other laws of the Republic of Lithuania but they must not hinder the work of the committees for the referendum. The observers shall have the right to make a written protest which must be appended to the records and decisions of the committee for the referendum and must be delivered together with the referendum documents to the superior committee for the referendum. Article 32-
  86. Announcement of the Referendum Results The final results of the referendum shall be announced by the Central Electoral Committee no later than within 4 days after the end of the referendum. Article 32-
  87. Filing of the Referendum Documents After the completion of the referendum, the Central Electoral Committee shall, no later than within 20 days after the expiry of the term for examining complaints concerning its decisions as established by this Law, transfer to the State Archives for indefinite safekeeping the records of the referendum districts, the city, regional committees for the referendum and the Central Electoral Committee and the lists of the referendum."
  88. Article 33 shall be set forth to read as follows: "Article
  89. Announcement and Coming into Effect of the Provisions of a Law of the Republic of Lithuania or any other Decision Adopted by referendum The provisions of a law of the Republic of Lithuania or any other decisions adopted by referendum shall be announced according to the promulgation procedure established by the laws of the Republic of Lithuania. The day of the referendum shall be considered the date of adoption of the provisions of a law of the Republic of Lithuania or any other decision. The provisions of a law of the Republic of Lithuania or any other decision adopted by referendum shall become effective on the day following the promulgation thereof."
  90. Article 34 shall be set forth as follows: "Article
  91. Amending or Repealing the Provisions of a Law of the Republic of Lithuania or any other Decision Adopted by referendum The provisions of a law of the Republic of Lithuania or any other decision which have been adopted by referendum may be amended or repealed by referendum. In the event that a necessity to quickly amend the provisions of a law of the Republic of Lithuania or any other decision adopted by referendum arises, said amendments may also be made by a decision of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania adopted by a 2/3 majority vote of all the Seimas members. Said amendments must within 3 months be presented for approval by referendum. " I promulgate this Law passed by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania. President of the Republic Algirdas Brazauskas

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