REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA

REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA Law on Elections to Local Government Councils 7 July 1994 No. I-532 I. General Provisions Article

Principles of Elections of Members to Local Government Councils of the Republic of Lithuania Members of local government Councils (hereinafter referred to as Councils) shall be elected for a term of two years in multi-member electoral areas on the basis of universal and equal suffrage by secret ballot by direct voting according to the electoral system of proportional representation. Elections of members to all Councils shall be held concurrently. They shall be announced by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania at least three months prior to the day of election. Article
Universal Suffrage Citizens of the Republic of Lithuania who, on the day of election, are 18 years of age or over, shall have the right to vote. Persons who have been declared incapable by court shall not participate in the elections. Any citizen of the Republic of Lithuania who on the day of election is 21 years of age or over shall be eligible to be elected as a Council member. Persons who, on the day of election, are in the national defence service 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, and other paid officers of the military and security services who have not retired from service by the day of appointment of election day, shall not be eligible to be elected as Council members. Members of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania shall not be eligible to be elected as Council members if their term of office expires after more than three months. Persons who have not served a court-imposed sentence, as well as persons who have been declared incapable by court, shall not be eligible to be elected as Council members. Other direct or indirect abridgements of the right to vote of citizens of the Republic of Lithuania on the grounds of their sex, nationality, language, descent, social status, religion, or convictions or attitudes shall be prohibited. Article
Equal Suffrage Every citizen of the Republic of Lithuania who has the right to vote shall have one vote in one electoral area; the vote of each citizen having the right to vote shall be of equal value. All citizens shall be represented in the Councils on an equal basis according to the representation quota. Article
Direct Elections There shall be no voting by proxy in the election of Council members. Article
Secret Ballot Voters shall vote in person and by secret ballot. It shall be prohibited to control the will of the voters during elections. Article
Publicity of the Preparation and Conduct of Elections Electoral committees shall prepare and conduct elections publicly. Public notice must be given of all events (meetings, sittings) related to the organisation of elections at least 24 hours prior to the beginning of said event. The electoral committees shall inform the citizens about their work, the formation of electoral areas and districts, the membership of the electoral committees, the addresses and working hours of their offices, the lists of voters, the lists of candidates to Council members, and the voting and election results. Representatives of the mass media shall have the right to participate without hindrance in all the events organised by electoral committees, as well as to obtain information on the preparation and conduct of elections. Article
Expenses Related to the Preparation and Conduct of Elections Expenses related to the preparation and conduct of elections of Council members shall be reimbursed by the State. II. Electoral Areas and Districts Article
Formation of Electoral Areas For the organisation and conduct of elections, one multi- member electoral area shall be formed in the territory of the local government; all citizens of the Republic of Lithuania who have the right to vote and permanently reside in the territory of that local government shall vote in that electoral area. According to the proportionate system of election the following number of Council members shall be elected in the electoral area: over 500,000 people - 51 Council members; from 300,000 to 500,000 people - 41 Council members; from 100,000 to 300,000 people - 31 Council members; from 50,000 to 100,000 people - 27 Council members; from 20,000 to 50,000 people - 25 Council members; up to 20,000 people - 21 Council members. Electoral areas and the number of Council members to be elected shall be announced by the Central Electoral Committee at least 85 days prior to the elections. Article
Formation of Electoral Districts Electoral areas shall be subdivided into electoral districts. The subdivision of each electoral area into electoral districts and the number and size of electoral districts shall be established by a local government electoral committee at least 70 days prior to the elections. No more than 5,000 voters may reside in the territory of an electoral district. The local government electoral committees shall, within 7 days of the approval of the list of electoral districts, inform the voters of the boundaries of each electoral district, as well as its headquarters and polling place thereof. III. Organisation of Elections Article
Electoral Committees Elections to the local government Council shall be organised and conducted by: 1) the Central Electoral Committee; 2) the electoral committees of electoral areas; and 3) the electoral committee of electoral districts. Members of electoral committees may not be nominated as candidates to Council members. Citizens of the Republic of Lithuania may be nominated as candidates to the electoral committee members provided that they are eligible to be elected as Council members and have never been removed from the electoral committee for the violation of election laws. Article
Powers of the Central Electoral Committee The Central Electoral Committee is the supreme institution for the organisation of elections. The Central Electoral Committee shall: 1) monitor the implementation of this Law, ensure equal application thereof, on the basis of this Law publish instructions and comments concerning the organisation of elections; 2) form local government electoral committees and appoint their chairpersons; 3) upon the recommendation of political parties and political organisations which take part in the elections, register their representatives under the Central Electoral Committee and issue them certificates; 4) establish the samples and model forms of ballot-papers, voter certificates, certificates of Council members, voucher envelopes and outer envelopes for voting by mail, other official envelopes, packages, documents, seals used in the elections, voting boxes, the samples for the filling thereof and the procedure for sealing ballot-papers; 5) collect information on the formation of electoral committees of electoral areas and districts, calculate the total number thereof, distribute the funds among the local government electoral committees, allocated for the elections by the State, and consider issues concerning the material-technical supply of the elections; 6) approve the results of the elections of members to all local government Councils of the Republic of Lithuania and publish reports thereon in the press; 7) consider complaints and pass decisions thereon in cases established by this Law; 8) revoke decisions of electoral committees if they are in conflict with this Law; 9) declare elections invalid if in the course thereof election documents were falsified or other illegal actions were performed which affected materially the election results; and 10) exercise other powers provided by this Law. Article
Formation of Electoral Committees of Electoral Areas Electoral committees of electoral areas shall be formed and their chairpersons shall be appointed by the Central Electoral Committee at least 80 days prior to the election day. Electoral committees of electoral areas shall be formed for the term of the elections to the Councils and shall consist of: two persons who permanently reside or work in the territory of the electoral area and who have been trained as lawyers; said persons shall be nominated by the Minister of Justice; and two persons who permanently reside or work in the territory of the electoral area and who have been trained as lawyers; said persons shall be nominated by the Lithuanian Society of Lawyers. The Minister of Justice and the Lithuanian Society of Lawyers may nominate more than two candidates. Upon receiving 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 have the right to nominate to the electoral committee of the electoral area their two representatives for every list of candidates nominated in the multi-member electoral area (joint list). The Central Electoral Committees may not reject these candidatures. If no candidatures are proposed, the Central Electoral Committee may in their place additionally approve as committee members the candidates nominated by the Ministry of Justice or the Lithuanian Society of Lawyers. At its first sitting, the electoral committee of an electoral area shall elect its chairperson, deputy chairperson, and secretary. Article
Powers of Electoral Area Electoral Committees Electoral area electoral committees shall: 1) monitor the implementation of this Law in the territory of the electoral area; 2) divide the territory of the electoral area into electoral districts, establish their boundaries, centres, their working hours, and polling stations, form electoral district committees and appoint their chairpersons; 3) co-ordinate the activities of district electoral committees; 4) distribute State funds allocated for the elections among the district electoral committees and consider the issues of material-technical supply of elections; 5) hear the reports of district electoral committees on the organisation and conduct of elections; 6) approve the wording of the ballot papers and deliver them to the Central Electoral Committee according to the procedure and by the date established by the Committee, organise the delivery of ballot papers to the district electoral committees; 7) on the nomination of political parties and political organisations taking part in the elections, register and issue certificates to their representatives in the area electoral committees and election observers; 8) establish the results of the elections in the electoral area, and draw up vote calculation records in the electoral area; 9) establish the results of the elections of the Council members and the elected Council members, deliver the election material to the Central Electoral Committee for approving the final results of the elections; upon the passing of the resolution by the Central Electoral Committee shall publish the list of the elected local government Council members in the press; 10) consider petitions and appeals against the actions of district electoral committees and pass decision thereon; and 11) carry out other powers under this Law. Article
Formation of District Electoral Committees District electoral committees shall be formed and their chairpersons shall be appointed by the area electoral committee at least 60 days prior to the election day. District electoral committees shall be formed from the candidates nominated by the political parties, political organisations that have received mandates of the Seimas members in the multi-member electoral area according to the list of nominated candidates (joint list). The above political parties and political organisations shall have the right to nominate up to three representatives of said parties and organisation as candidates to district electoral committee. If no candidates are nominated, the area electoral committee may proportionately increase the representation quota of political parties, political organisations. District electoral committees shall elect their deputy chairperson and secretary at the first sitting. Article
Powers of the District Electoral Committee The district electoral committee shall: 1) obtain lists of voters from the executive bodies of local governments, review and approve them; 2) consider complaints concerning errors made in the lists of voters; 3) deliver the list of voters of the district to the area electoral committee at least 30 days prior to the election day; 4) hand in or deliver in any other way, voter certificates to the voters; 5) ensure that polling places and ballot-boxes meet the requirements established by this Law; 6) on the election day organise voting in the district; 7) calculate votes of the district and draw up a vote calculation record of the district; 8) consider the appeals of voters, representatives of political parties and political organisations in the electoral committees and election observers on issues concerning the preparation of elections, organisation of voting, calculation of votes, and the compilation of vote calculation records, and pass decisions relative thereto; and 9) exercise other powers provided by this Law. Article
Organisation of Electoral Committee Work The sittings of electoral committees shall be valid if they are attended by at least 3/5 of the committee members. Committee decisions shall be adopted by an open majority vote of the committee members attending the sitting. In the event of a tie vote, the vote of the chairperson of the committee shall be decisive. Committee members who disagree with the decision shall have the right to voice their individual opinion in writing, which shall be attached to the minutes of the sitting. Upon termination of voting, district electoral committees may only adopt decisions which are relative to the compilation of vote calculation records. Sittings of electoral committees shall be open. They may be attended by the representatives of political parties, political organisations in the electoral committees, and election observers and representatives of all mass media. Upon the formation of electoral committees, the chairpersons and members thereof shall be prohibited from campaigning in any form and from exerting, in any manner, influence upon the will of the voters. Persons who violate this provision may be removed from the electoral committee. Article
Appeals against the Decisions of Electoral Committees Passed prior to the Termination of Voting The representatives of political parties and political organisations in the electoral committees, election observers and voters may appeal to a superior electoral committee against the decisions ofelectoral committees passed prior to the termination of voting as follows: 1) against decisions passed by district electoral committees -- to the area electoral committee ; 2) against decisions passed by area electoral committees -- to the Central Electoral Committee; and 3) against decisions passed by the Central Electoral Committee -- to the Supreme Court of Lithuania. Appeals must be investigated within 48 hours from the filing thereof. Days off shall also be included in this time limit. The decision of the Supreme Court shall be final. Article
Assistance for Electoral Committees Heads and officers of State and local government institutions, enterprises, offices and organisations must assist electoral committees in exercising their powers and must furnish them with necessary information. State and local government institutions, enterprises, offices, and organisations as well as their heads and officers must, no later than within 3 days, consider requests submitted by electoral committees and give justified responses. Electoral committees may employ the required number of personnel for auxiliary work. Local governments, State institutions and organisations must provide electoral committees with premises and equipment for the preparation and conduct of elections. Article
Remuneration of Electoral Committee Members For their work in electoral committees, the chairpersons and members thereof shall receive remuneration according to the rates submitted by the Central Electoral Committee,approved by the Government. Article
Changing the Composition of Electoral Committees Chairpersons and members of electoral committees may be dismissed from their posts in the committees by the institution which approved the composition of the committee. As necessary, a new chairperson or a member of electoral committees shall be appointed according to the procedure established by this Law. IV. Lists of Voters Article
Compiling the Lists of Voters For the conduct of elections, voters' lists of every electoral district shall be compiled. Said lists shall be compiled by the executive bodies of relevant local governments, signed by their chief executives, and delivered to the district electoral committees at least 40 days prior to the election day. The approved lists of voters shall be signed by the chairperson and secretary of the district electoral committee. Article
General Procedure for Placing Citizens in Voters' Lists Citizens of the Republic of Lithuania who are entitled to vote and who, at the moment of compiling the voters' list, are permanently residing in the territory of the given electoral district shall be placed in the voters' list. In the event that a voter changes his or her permanent place of residence after the compilation of these lists, said voter may be placed in the voters' list of the new place of residence, provided that he or she has submitted an application to the electoral committee of this district concerning registration in the voters' list at least 25 days prior to the elections. The district electoral committee must see to it that the name of said voter is struck from the voters' list of the electoral district of his or her former permanent place of residence. Article
Registration of National Defence Servicemen in Voters' Lists Persons performing military or alternative service shall be placed in the voters' lists of the electoral districts on whose territory they resided permanently before conscription. Officers of the national defence system and internal service, non-commissioned officers, and re-enlistees shall be placed in the voters' lists of the electoral district on whose territory they permanently reside. Article
Registration of Persons who are in the Places of Confinement in Voters' Lists Persons who are in places of confinement shall be placed in the voters' lists of the electoral district in whose territory they resided permanently prior to their confinement. Article
Registration of Voters in One List Only Every voter may only be registered in one voters' list. Compliance with this requirement shall be checked by the Central Electoral Committee. Upon establishing that a voter's name is placed in the voters' lists of more than one electoral district, the Committee shall notify the voter at least 20 days prior to the election, so that said voter could , within 10 days, inform in which voters' list he or she wishes to be registered. If said voter fails to make a choice within the established period, the area electoral committee shall register him or her in the voters' list of the electoral district in which, in their opinion, it would be more convenient for the voter to vote, and shall, within 3 days, inform the voter thereof. Such a decision of the area electoral committee may not be appealed against. Article
Public Announcement of Voters' Lists The electoral district committee shall, at least 30 days prior to the elections, announce publicly that the voters' lists have been completed and shall provide the voters with a possibility to get acquainted with the lists, informing the voters of the time and place for doing this. Article
Reviewing Voters' Lists Any voter or representative of a political party or political organisation in the electoral committee may submit comments to the district electoral committee concerning inaccuracies in a voters' list at least 10 days prior to the elections. The district electoral committee must consider such comments and pass a decision thereon within 48 hours of the receipt thereof. The decision of the district electoral committee may be appealed against to the area electoral committee within 48 hours. The area electoral committee must pass a decision within 48 hours of the receipt of the appeal. Decision of the area electoral committee shall be final. Article
Appeals Concerning Restoration of the Right to Vote Voters, representatives of a political party or political organisation in the electoral committee or election observers shall submit to the district electoral committee appeals concerning errors in a voters' list by reason of which the voter may not implement his or her right to vote. The district electoral committee must consider the appeal and pass a decision thereon at least within 24 hours of the receipt thereof. The decision of the district electoral committee may, within 48 hours, be appealed against to the district court, which shall consider the appeal within 24 hours; the decision of the district court shall be final. District electoral committees shall inform area electoral committees of the appeals received and changes made in the voters' lists as soon as possible, but no later than within 24 hours. Comments and appeals filed less than 24 hours from the beginning of the elections shall not be considered. Article
Voters' Lists of Electoral Areas Electoral area voters' lists shall be compiled by the area electoral committee according to the electoral district voters' lists submitted by the district electoral committees at least 20 days prior to the elections. V. Nomination of Candidates for Council Members Article
Nomination of Candidates for Council Members in Electoral Areas The following political parties, political organisations and public organisations (hereinafter referred to as organisations nominating candidates of lists) shall have the right to nominate candidates for Council members: 1) political parties, political organisations registered with the Ministry of Justice under the Law on Political Parties at least 35 days prior to the elections; 2) public organisations registered with the Ministry of Justice at least 3 months prior to the elections and for which at least 200 signatures of electoral area voters have been collected, supporting the participation of the public organisation in the elections at electoral area in which 21 Council members are being elected, at least 1,000 signatures in which from 25 to 41 Council members are being elected, and at least 2,000 signatures in which 51 Council members are being elected. Voters' signatures shall be collected on a special signature collection sheet. Signatures of voters of electoral area shall be collected on the sheet bearing the following text: I, the citizen of the Republic of Lithuania, confirm that I support the participation of ----------------------------------------------------------------- ( the name of the public organisation nominating the list of candidates) in the elections of---------------------------------------------- members in ( name of the local government Council) -------------------------------: (date of the elections) ----------------------------------------------------------------- No. Full Number of Date Permanent Date Signature name Passport of birth place or of a person residence of the RL ----------------------------------------------------------------- All data shall be entered in the signature collection sheet by the voter himself/herself. He or she may support every public organisation only once. At the end of the sheet there must be a person's name who has collected signatures; full name , the number of RL passport, their address and his/her signature . An organisation nominating lists of candidates shall nominate candidates for Council members in the electoral areas by presenting lists of candidates. The number of candidates on the list may not be less than 5 and may not exceed the number of mandates plus 5 more candidates. The candidates must meet the requirements prescribed by Article 2 of this Law. Every candidate may be registered only in the list of candidates nominated by one organisation nominating the list of candidates and only in one electoral area. In the event that a person is placed in more than one list, the area electoral committee shall request that the person choose in which list of candidates he or she would like to run for the election. If the candidate fails to notify of his or her choice 30 days prior to the election day, he or she shall be removed from all lists of candidates. Article
Application Documents for the Nomination of Candidates for Council Members For the nomination of candidates, organisations nominating lists of candidates must file the following application documentation with the Central Electoral Committee: 1) statutes and registration documentation; 2) a petition for the participation in the elections, 3) the list of areas in which organisations nominating lists of candidates intend to nominate their candidates; 4) documents evidencing the payment of electoral roll deposit in the amount of minimum monthly wage (MMW) multiplied by the number of areas in which candidates will be nominated; 5) the lists of representatives in the Central Electoral Committee and representatives in the area electoral committee of the organisation nominating lists of candidates. Organisations nominating lists of candidates must file with the area electoral committee the following application documentation: 1) the list of nominated candidates in which candidates are placed in a numerical order, signed by a representative of the organisation nominating lists of candidates, in the area electoral committee; 2) the written consent of the nominated candidates for being nominated in that electoral area; 3) the certificate issued by the Central Electoral Committee, concerning the registration of the organisation, nominating lists of candidates, for the participation in the elections to the Council of that local government. The list of nominated candidates must state the candidate's full name, date of birth, and address; attached must also be a document evidencing that the candidate is a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania. The filing of application documents shall commence 65 days before the election and shall end 35 days before the election. Upon receipt of application documents from an organisation nominating lists of candidates, the Central Electoral Committee shall, within 2 days, apply to the Ministry of Justice for confirmation of the fact that said organisation has been registered, its activities have not been suspended or terminated, and its filed statutes are valid. The Ministry of Justice must give a written reply within 2 days. Upon receipt of a notice concerning improper registration or any other deficiencies, the Central Electoral Committee must immediately notify the representative of the organisation, nominating lists of candidates, in the Central Electoral Committee. The Central Electoral Committee shall, within 7 days after the receipt of application documents, issue the certificate to said representative, concerning the registration of the organisation for the participation in the elections to the local government Council. Article
Joining of Lists of Candidates Several organisations nominating lists of candidates may join these lists no later than 35 days before the day of elections. For this purpose they must submit to the area electoral committee applications concerning the joining of lists of candidates, signed by the representatives of the organisations, nominating candidates, in the area electoral committee, which are forming the coalition. The joint list shall be considered as one list. One organisation nominating lists of candidates may participate in only one joint list of candidates. Article
A Representative of an Organisation , Nominating Lists of Candidates, in the Electoral Committee When presenting application documents, organisations nominating lists of candidates must indicate the full names and addresses of their respective representatives in the electoral committees. Organisations may at any time replace their respective representative in the electoral committee in the same manner in which he or she was appointed. Article
The Right to Withdraw Application Documents Through their respective representatives in the electoral committee, organisations nominating lists of candidates as well as a person placed in the list of nominated candidates, may, at any time, but no later than 17 days prior to the elections, withdraw the candidacy application. In order to do so, the area electoral committee must be applied to, whereas the person, nominated by an organisation nominating lists of candidates must also notify its representative. In the event that application documents are withdrawn by an organisation, nominating lists of candidates, which is a coalition member, the candidates shall be removed from the joint list of candidates and the name of the coalition may be changed. In the latter case notification in writing of the representatives of the coalition members shall be mandatory. If, after the withdrawal of application documents, candidates of only one organisation remain on the joint list of candidates, said persons shall run for election only as candidates of the organisation nominating lists of candidates. Article
Announcement of the List of Candidates At least 32 days before the elections, the Central Electoral Committee shall establish by drawing lots the election numbers of organisations nominating lists of candidates and shall announce said numbers in all electoral areas. At least 30 days before the election, the area electoral committees shall announce the lists of candidates nominated by organisations or coalitions as well as their election numbers. At least 15 days before the election, the area electoral committee shall deliver the final lists of candidates nominated by organisations or coalitions. VI. Guarantees of the Activities of Candidates for Council Members Article
The Right of Candidates for Council Members to Speak at Meetings and Make Use of Mass Media Upon the commencement of the election campaign, candidates for Council members shall have the equal right to speak at voter meetings and other meetings, gatherings, and sittings, as well as through local mass media and to publicise the programme of the organisation that has nominated them. Local government authorities must provide assistance to candidates for local government Councils in organising meetings with voters and obtaining necessary information, with the exception of confidential information, in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Lithuania or decrees of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania. Article
Liability for Violation of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Elections to Local Government Councils Persons who by force, fraud, threats or otherwise hinder the implementation of the right to vote, to be elected to the Council, or to organise election campaigns, as well as members of electoral committees and other officers who falsify election documents, calculate votes fraudulently, violate voting secrecy, or otherwise violate this Law, shall be liable according to the laws of the Republic of Lithuania. Legal actions shall also be instituted against persons who publish or otherwise spread false statements about a candidate for Council members or prevent said candidate from meeting with voters. Article
The Inviolability of a Candidate for Council Members During the election campaign and after the election, until the first sitting of the local government Council, a candidate for Council member may not, without the consent of the area electoral committee, be found criminally responsible or arrested, nor may administrative penalties be imposed on him or her for actions committed during the election campaign. Article
Election Observers An election observer of an organisation nominating lists of candidates shall be a person bearing the certificate in the form established by the Central Electoral Committee. Election observers shall have the right to demand that the chairperson and members of an electoral committee, as well as persons who are in the polling place, adhere to this and other laws of the Republic of Lithuania. VII. Campaigning Article
Principles of Campaigning The opening of the election campaign shall be announced by the Central Electoral Committee at least 30 days prior to the elections. Organisations nominating lists of candidates or their coalitions may start campaigning from the day the election campaign starts; provisions set forth in this Chapter shall apply to the election campaign. Campaigning may be conducted in any form or manner provided that the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Lithuania are not violated thereby. Commanders of national defence and interior service units and chief officers of the places of confinement shall provide conditions for the representatives of organisations, nominating lists of candidates, in the Central Electoral Committee to visit, upon presenting their certificates, military units and places of confinement for the election purposes. Article
Conditions and Procedure for the Utilisation of the Mass Media Organisations nominating candidates for Council members shall be entitled to make use of national and local government mass media free of charge. The scope and time of the national radio and television programs shall be specified by the Central Electoral Committee on co-ordination with the chief officers of the Lithuanian Radio and Television, and shall be allocated in the manner ensuring the principle of equality of said organisations. Each organisation nominating lists of candidates shall be allocated equal time on the local government radio and television programmes. Campaigning over the commercial mass media shall be limited only by the amount of funds on the election accounts. In the event that mass media makes public the material discrediting a candidate for Council members (such material may be publicised 10 days before the elections at the latest), it must itself announce the candidate's response at least 3 days prior to the election. All disputes related to election campaigning shall be settled by electoral committee according to the principle of equal rights of candidates nominated by organisations nominating lists of candidates. Article
Prohibition for the Officers of State and Local Government Institutions to Exert Influence upon the Will of the Voters During election campaigns, officers of State and local government institutions as well as employees of the State and local government mass media shall be prohibited from using their official duties for any form of campaigning or otherwise attempting to exert influence upon the will of the voters. If such persons are candidates for Council members, they may use the mass media only according to the procedure set forth in Par.1 hereof. In the event that the fulfilment of their duties requires that they announce important news to the mass media, they may do so only at a press conference. Article
Provision of Finances for Campaigning Campaigning shall be financed from State funds as well as from the funds raised by organisations, nominating lists of candidates which shall be deposited in special election accounts. The maximum sum allowed for campaigning shall be the equivalent of 20 AMW for each electoral roll and 200 AMW for an organisation nominating lists of candidates. If the amount of money transferred into an appropriate account exceeds the established sum, the bank shall transfer the surplus to the State Budget. It shall be prohibited to use other funds for covering the expenses of the election campaign. Upon establishing that campaigning was financed with funds other than those withdrawn from the election account, the paid sum shall be recovered from the payee without suit and shall be transferred into the State Budget. State funds shall be used to pay for time on the national and local government radio and television allotted under this Law and for printing the election programme for each electoral roll. The utilisation of funds allocated for campaigning shall be controlled by financial institutions, the Central Electoral Committee and area electoral committees. Organisations nominating lists of voters must publish in the press consolidated reports concerning the sources of funds and the utilisation thereof for campaigning no later than 30 days after the elections. The amount of funds received for each roll, organisation nominating the list of candidates and the balance must also be specified in the report. The election accounts shall be closed no later than 25 days after the elections. Organisations nominating lists of candidates shall use at their discretion the funds which have not been used for campaigning. The bank shall transfer into the State Budget sums from the accounts which have not been closed by the fixed date. Article
Prohibition of Campaigning Campaigning shall be prohibited during the 24 hours period before the beginning of elections and on the election day. No campaign posters shall be allowed in or within a 50 metre radius of the voting place. VIII. Preparatory Activities for the Organisation of Elections Article
Ballot-papers During elections to the Council, each voter shall be presented with one ballot-paper whereon the election number of an organisation nominating lists of voters or coalition, the name of said organisation, or coalition, and the full names of the first five candidates in the list of candidates shall be specified. The names of organisations shall be placed on the ballot- papers according to the number assigned to them and in the increasing order. Coalitions shall be registered according to the smallest election number of the organisation nominating lists of candidates ,which is a member of the coalition. Article
Delivery of Ballot-papers Ballot-papers and envelopes shall be delivered to electoral districts and post offices at least 7 days prior to the elections. On ships, voters must be provided with free access to ballot-papers and envelopes for postal voting at least 10 days prior to the day of elections. The Central Electoral Committee shall be responsible for the printing of ballot-papers and envelopes for postal voting, as well as the delivery thereof by the specified date. Article
Voter Certificate Voter certificates shall be delivered to voters at least 10 days prior to the election day. If voter certificate is not delivered through the fault of the electoral committee, it must be issued immediately upon the voter's request. In the event that a voter is presented with an inaccurate voter certificate, or, due to an error in the list of voters, the voter certificate is not issued at all, a correct voter certificate shall be issued immediately after rectification of the mistake. Upon written application, a voter may be issued a duplicate voter certificate. Each voter certificate shall include the following: 1) the name of the electoral area; 2) the number of the district electoral committee; 3) the voter's number in the district voters' list; 4) the voter's name and surname; 5) the voter's permanent place of residence; and 6) the address of the polling place. IX. Voting Article
Time and Place of Voting Voting shall take place on the day of elections from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the polling place designated by the district electoral committee. Voters shall vote in the electoral district in whose list of voters their names have been placed. A voter's vote received by mail shall be valid only in the electoral area in whose list of voters his or her name has been included. Article
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 this Law must be accessible in all electoral districts. Lists of candidates nominated by organisations must be posted in the polling place. No other events, except the elections and voting, may be conducted in the polling place and in the 50- metre radius around it. Article
Commencement of Voting On the day of elections, the polling place shall be opened only when at least 3/5 of the electoral committee members of the electoral district are present. Then, the chairperson of the district electoral committee, together with other members of the electoral committee, shall ascertain that the ballot-box is empty, and shall seal it up. Having checked that the polling place has been furnished without violating the established requirements, the chairperson of the district electoral committee shall register in the vote calculation record the total number of ballot-papers received at the district, distribute the ballot- papers and lists of voters among the members of the electoral committee, record in the vote calculation record of the electoral district the number of ballot-papers distributed to each member of the electoral committee, and open the polling place, thus proclaiming the commencement of the elections.
Article. Voter Identification Upon arriving at the polling place, voters shall present to a member of the electoral committee of the electoral district their voter certificates as well as their passports or other documents certifying their identity, and shall sign in the list of voters. Voter certificates shall not be returned to the voters. In the event that a voter has not been issued a voter certificate, it may be issued upon presentation of a passport or any other document certifying his or her identity. After the voter signs in he or she shall be issued a ballot-paper. If voting by mail, a note concerning the issue of the ballot-paper shall be recorded on the voter certificate which shall then be returned to the voter. A voter shall be issued only one ballot-paper. Any electoral committee member who violates the above requirement may be removed from issuing ballot-papers or expelled from the committee members. Article
Voting Procedure Upon being issued a ballot-paper, the voter shall go into the voting booth where he or she shall mark the ballot. On a ballot-paper, the voter shall mark the name of the list of that organisation or coalition for which he or she is voting. Voters shall personally cast their marked ballot-papers into the ballot-box. At the voter's request, a faulty ballot-paper shall be exchanged for a new one. Faulty ballot-papers shall be kept separately after the member of the electoral committee who issued the new ballot-paper crosses out and signs the faulty ballot- paper. Voters who are physically incapable of marking their ballot- papers or casting them into the ballot-box themselves may designate another person (with the exception of the chairperson or members of the electoral committee) to carry out the above actions in their place. Article
Voting by Mail Voting by mail shall be possible at post offices during business hours beginning 7 days before the elections and ending 1 day before the elections if the voter is voting in his or her territory of electoral area, and ending 2 days before the elections if the voter is voting in the central post office or a special post office that is located in the territory of another electoral area. Expenses related to voting by mail shall be covered by the State. The head of the post office shall be responsible for the organisation of voting by mail. He or she shall also be responsible for the issue and collection of voucher envelopes during voting by mail. A responsible officer (officers) shall be appointed for the issue and collection of ballot-papers and envelopes. Post offices must provide a place where voters can, without interference, mark their ballot-papers and put them into voucher envelopes. Voting by mail shall be conducted in accordance with the procedure set forth in Articles 51 and 52 of this Law, with the exception of casting ballot-papers into the ballot-box. Together with ballot-papers, voters shall be given envelopes for voting by mail. The voter shall put marked ballot-papers into the voucher envelope, seal it, put the envelope and the voter certificate into the outer envelope and seal it. The outer envelope shall be stamped with the post office seal. Envelope for voting by mail shall be addressed to the electoral committee of the electoral district in the list of voters of which the voter is registered. At least 2 days prior to the elections, a postal worker shall bring outer envelopes, voucher envelopes, and ballot-papers to the homes of voters who cannot move. The district electoral committees shall, no later than 7 days before the elections, draw up the list of voters 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 local government. Voters who are not in the list of voters who are unable to move shall not be permitted to vote at home by mail. The voter may: 1) hand the sealed outer envelope (with the voter certificate, voucher envelope and ballot-paper inside) to a postal officer; 2) hand the sealed outer envelope to the postal worker who delivered the election documents; or 3) put the sealed outer envelope into a post-box. Article
Voting on Ships Voting shall take place on board a ship if the ship leaves the port of the Republic of Lithuania at least 6 days prior to the elections and will not return to a port of the Republic of Lithuania prior to the election day, or if there are circumstances preventing a crew member or a board passenger who are entitled to vote from voting in his or her electoral district or by mail. The Central Electoral Committee, in co-ordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, shall compile a list of ships on which voting shall take place and shall fix the time of voting on every ship in such a manner that each voter on board a ship is provided with the possibility to vote. The captain of the ship or the mate shall be responsible for the organisation of voting on board. Article
The Procedure for Voting at Diplomatic Missions and on Ships The procedure for voting at diplomatic missions and on ships shall be established by the Central Electoral Committee. Article
Voting at 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 and institutions who are able to move shall vote themselves in accordance with the procedure set forth in Article 54 of this Law. Inmates of health care facilities and institutions of care who are unable to move shall be visited by officers of special post offices who are approved by district electoral committees. The voting person must, in conditions of privacy, personally mark the ballot-paper and put it into the voucher envelope. If necessary, the person may be assisted by an individual whom he or she trusts. 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 special post offices. It shall be prohibited to disturb individuals 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 chronic mental disease, imbecility or short-time mental disorder, is incapable of understanding the essence of his or her actions and controlling them. Article
Voting in Military Units Special post offices designated for voting shall be established in military units of the national defence system. If possible, chief officers of military units shall provide conditions for servicemen to vote in the electoral districts of their permanent place of residence. Article
Voting in Places of Imprisonment Special post offices designated for voting shall be established in places of imprisonment. X. Calculation of Votes and Establishment of Voting Results Article
Records of Voucher Envelopes and Ballot-papers in Post Offices The post office head shall deliver unused envelopes and ballot-papers to the electoral committee of the electoral area one day before the elections. The records of voucher envelopes and ballot-papers shall be kept in the manner established by the Central Electoral Committee by the post office head in the journal designated for that purpose. The envelopes with the ballot-papers marked by the voters shall be delivered to the district electoral committees on the election day no later than 2 hours before the end of the elections. The records of voucher envelopes and ballot-papers shall be kept by the Central Electoral Committee. Article
Records of Ballot-papers in Electoral Districts Upon the closing of a polling place, the chairperson of the district electoral committee, in the presence of at least 3/5 of the electoral committee members, shall seal up and stamp the slit of the ballot-box, collect the unused ballot-papers from each member of the district electoral committee individually, publicly count said ballot-papers, record their number in the vote counting record, and check against the signatures on the voter lists and voter certificates that no ballot-papers have been issued unlawfully. The electoral committee 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 that purpose, and seal the envelopes. The number of unused and faulty ballot- papers shall be recorded in the vote calculation record. Article
Calculation of Votes in the Electoral District and Records of Voters who have Voted The district electoral committee, 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. 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 a t least 3/5 of the committee members, all the ballot-papers shall be placed on 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 voters. The specific vote calculation procedure shall be established by the Central Electoral Committee. The number of voters shall be determined according to the district voter list. The number of voters who have been issued ballot-papers shall be established according to the signatures of voters evidencing that the ballot-papers have been received. The number of voters who have voted in the electoral district shall be established according to the number of ballot-papers found in the ballot-box. The number of voters who have taken part in the election shall be established according to the number of ballot- papers found in the ballot-boxes of electoral districts and the number of ballot-papers received by mail. Upon finding more ballot-papers in the ballot-box than were issued to the voters, the electoral committee shall take appropriate measures to determine the reasons therefor. The results of the vote calculation shall be entered in the vote calculation record. Upon counting all the ballot-papers found in the ballot-box, the calculation of the ballot-papers received by mail shall commence: 1) the chairperson of the district electoral committee shall present, unopened, all outer envelopes received by mail. Their number shall be entered in the vote calculation record; 2) outer envelopes shall be opened one at a time; 3) voter certificates shall be taken out of the outer envelopes and checked against the voter list of the electoral district, and the voucher envelopes shall be stamped with the seal of the electoral area. If the person on the voter certificate is not on the voter list, or voter's signature is on the voter list indicating that he/she has already voted in the electoral district, or another envelope of voting by mail has been received already from the same voter, or there is no voter certificate in the outer envelope, or there is more than one voter certificate in the outer envelope, the seal shall not be affixed and the ballot-papers in the envelope shall be considered invalid. The fact must be noted on the voucher envelope; 4) in the voter list of the electoral district, a special record "voted by mail" shall be made by the surname of the voter whose vote was received by mail; 5) the sealed voucher envelope shall be cast into a ballot- box installed according to the established requirements; 6) when all envelopes received by mail are gone over in this way, the ballot-box shall be opened, the sealed voucher envelopes shall be unsealed, and the votes received by mail shall be counted according to the requirements set forth in this Article. If there is more than one ballot-paper in a voucher envelope, all ballot-papers in the envelope shall be declared invalid. If there is only one stamped voucher envelope in an electoral district, in order not to violate the secrecy of voting it shall not be unsealed but shall be referred to an area electoral committee, which shall enter the results of voting into its vote calculation record. Article
Vote Calculation Records of the Electoral District One vote calculation record shall be drawn up in each electoral district. The vote calculation record of the electoral area shall include: 1) the number of voters in the electoral district; 2) the number of ballot-papers received from the district electoral committee; 3) the number of ballot-papers issued to each member of the electoral committee, the number of ballot-papers issued to the voters, the number of voter signatures, the number of voter certificates, and the number of unused or faulty ballot-papers; 4) the number of annulled ballot-papers; 5) the number of voters who voted in the polling place of the electoral district; 6) the time at which the ballot-box was opened; 7) the number of invalid ballot-papers found in the ballot- box; 8) the number of valid ballot-papers found in the ballot- box; 9) the number of votes cast separately for the each list of candidates nominated by a political party, political organisation or coalition; 10) the number of envelopes received by mail and the number of sealed voucher envelopes; 11) the number of invalid ballot-papers received by mail; 12) the number of valid ballot-papers received by mail; 13) the number of votes received by mail, cast for the list of candidates nominated by political parties, political organisation or coalition; 14) the total number of voters who voted in the electoral district; 15) the total number of invalid ballot-papers in the electoral district; and 16) the total number of votes cast for each list of candidates nominated by organisations or coalitions . If the number of ballot-papers found in the ballot-box exceeds the number of ballot-papers issued to the voters, 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 records of the electoral district shall be signed by the chairperson and members of the district electoral committee. After that the observers shall sign the records. Comments of the observers and the opinions of the committee members shall be appended to the records and shall constitute an inseparable part thereof. Article
Invalid Ballot-papers The following ballot-papers shall be deemed invalid: 1) ballot-papers of an unestablished sample; 2) ballot-papers bearing no stamp or sealed with the stamp of the wrong electoral district; 3) ballot-papers of the wrong electoral area; and 4) ballot-papers on which more than one list of candidates nominated by an organisation or coalition or no list of candidates is marked. The decision to declare a ballot-paper invalid shall be adopted by the district electoral committee. Article
Presentation of Vote Calculation Documents of Electoral District to the Area Electoral Committee The district electoral committee shall put all ballot- papers, including invalid and faulty ones, vote calculation records, voter list and other election documents into a package and seal according to the procedure established by the Central Electoral Committee. The package shall be delivered to the Central Electoral Committee not later than within 6 hours from the end of the voting. The Central Electoral Committee and the Ministry of Internal Affairs must ensure the safety of the delivery of the election documents and of persons who are delivering said documents. Article
Summing-up of Vote Calculation Results by the Area Electoral Committee The area electoral committee shall commence the summing-up of the vote calculation results upon receipt of all vote calculation documents from electoral districts. Article
Vote Calculation Records of the Area Electoral Committee In accordance with vote calculation records of electoral districts, ballot-papers and other election documents, the area electoral committee shall establish: 1) the number of voters in the area who took part in the election, which equals the number of voters who cast their vote in the electoral districts of the area; 2) the number of invalid ballot-papers in the area which equals the total number of invalid ballot-papers in electoral districts of the area; 3) the number of ballot-papers valid in the area which corresponds to the total number of valid ballot-papers in electoral districts of the area; and 4) the number of votes cast for each list of candidates nominated by an organisation or coalition, which is equal to the number of votes cast in electoral districts for each list of candidates nominated by an organisation or coalition. Article
Establishment of Election Results in Electoral Areas An organisation nominating lists of candidates or a coalition may receive mandates of Council members only if no less than 4% of the voters who took part in the elections voted for the list of candidates nominated by them. Mandates shall be distributed among organisations nominating lists of candidates or coalitions in proportion to the number of votes received by each list, by applying the method of quotas and remainders. First of all the quota shall be calculated, i.e. how much votes are needed in order to receive 1 mandate. It shall be equal to the number of all votes cast in the electoral area for the lists participating in the distribution of mandates, divided by the number of members being elected to the local government Council. If the obtained quotient is with the remainder, the remainder shall be subtracted and 1 shall be added to the quotient. After that the number of votes cast for every list shall be divided by the quota. The obtained integer quotient shall be the number of mandates due to each list, whereas the remainder of the division shall be used for distributing the remaining mandates. For this purpose all organisations nominating lists of candidates or coalitions are recorded in the numerical order - according to the amount of the remainder assigned to them starting from the highest. In the event that the remainders of organisations or coalitions are of equal size, the organisation or coalition which received the greatest number of votes shall be recorded first. Should they, in addition, receive an equal number of votes, the organisation or coalition with the smallest election number shall be recorded first. If any of the organisations nominating lists of candidates or coalitions would receive more mandates than the number of candidates in its list, the remaining number of mandates shall be distributed among the other lists by applying the method of remainders. Candidates who are on one list shall receive the mandates in the order of succession specified in the application documents of the organisation nominating lists of candidates or coalition. Article
Presentation of the Council Members Election Results to the Central Electoral Committee The area electoral committees shall present the Council members election results to the Central Electoral Committee in the manner established and by the date fixed by the Central Electoral Committee. Article
Participation of the Representatives of Oragnisations,Nominating Lists of Candidates, in the Electoral Committees and Election Observers in the Calculation of Votes and Establishment of Election Results Representatives of organisations, nominating lists of candidates in the electoral committees and election observers as well as representatives of the mass media may participate in the calculation of votes in the electoral districts and the establishment of election results in electoral areas. The representatives and observers shall have the right to make comments and claims concerning violations of this Law and other laws of the Republic of Lithuania, addressing them to the appropriate electoral committees, but they may not hinder the work of electoral committees. The representatives and observers shall have the right to make a written protest which, together with other election documents of the district, shall be delivered to the appropriate area electoral committee. Article
Appeals against the Decisions of the Electoral Committees Adopted after the Voting has been Completed The representatives of organisations, nominating lists of candidates, in the electoral committees, the election observers may appeal to the area electoral committee the decisions of the district electoral committees concerning the recording of the vote calculation records within 24 hours after the adoption of said decisions. The appeals must be examined no later than within 24 hours. When examining appeals against the decisions of the district electoral committees concerning the recording of vote calculation records, the ballot-papers delivered by the district electoral committee may, with at least 3/5 of the committee members participating, be counted anew, and, in the event that an arithmetical error has been made or erroneously counted valid or invalid ballot-papers are established in the records, an additional district vote calculation record shall be drawn up and appended to the district vote calculation record. Area electoral committees shall not have the right to declare the vote calculation records of the district electoral committees invalid. The decision of the area electoral committee concerning an appeal may be appealed to the Central Electoral Committee within 24 hours from the adoption of said decision. When examining appeals against the decisions of area electoral committees concerning the drawing up of vote calculation records in an electoral area, the Central Electoral Committee may calculate anew the ballot-papers delivered by the electoral committee and, upon establishing in the records an arithmetic error or an erroneously counted number of valid or invalid ballot-papers, the Committee shall draw up additional vote calculation records of the area, district and append said records to the area vote calculation records. The Central Electoral Committee may declare the election results in an electoral area 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. Article
Declaration of Elections as Invalid Elections shall be declared invalid if in their course the Republic of Lithuania Law on Elections to the Local Government Councils is grossly violated, election documents are falsified, or any other unlawful actions which have a decisive influence on the election results are committed. Organisations, nominating lists of candidates, which ran in the elections may lodge appeals concerning the declaration of elections as invalid or the erroneous establishment of election results with the Supreme Court of Lithuania within 5 days from the day that the election results were announced. The Supreme Court of Lithuania shall examine appeals concerning the declaration of the elections as invalid or concerning the erroneous establishment of election results within 5 days. The decision of the Court shall be final. Article
Approval and Announcement of Election Results The Central Electoral Committee shall announce the final results of the elections within 7 days after the elections. The Central Electoral Committee shall approve without consideration the decisions of the area electoral committees in respect of which no appeals concerning the violation of the Law on Elections to the Local Government Councils which had a decisive influence on the election results are received from a political party, political organisation representative in the electoral committee within 3 days after the elections. Upon the approval of the decision of a district electoral committee by the Central Electoral Committee, the district electoral committee shall no later than within two days after the approval of the decision announce the electoral area election results. In the event that the Central Electoral Committee changes the decision of the area electoral committee or adopts a decision concerning the seat of the missing member of the local government Council, the election results shall be announced by the Central Electoral Committee and the issuing of local government Council member certificates shall commence no earlier than after 7 days and shall be terminated no later than 10 days after the announcement of the election results or the decision. The Central Electoral Committee shall refund the deposits for electoral rolls to the organisations, nominating lists of candidates, which participated in the distribution of mandates, with the exception of the number of areas in which the organisation nominating lists of candidates did not participate in the distribution of mandates. The deposit shall be refunded within 15 days after the announcement of the final election results. Article
Certificate of the Local Government Council Member After the announcement of election results, the electoral committee shall issue certificates of the local government Council member to the elected candidates. All disputes concerning failure to issue certificates of the Council member shall be resolved within 3 days of the receipt of the appeal by the district court, the decision of which shall be final. Article
Repeat Elections Repeat elections shall be held if elections to the local government Council are declared invalid. Repeat elections shall be held no later than after 3 months after the elections have been declared invalid. The Central Electoral Committee shall establish the actual day of the elections and adopt the decision concerning the prolongation of powers of the area electoral committee, changes in the committee membership or formation of a new committee. The area electoral committee shall form new district electoral committees. After that the repeat elections shall be conducted according to the procedure established by this Law. The election deposits of organisations, nominating lists of candidates, which had been previously registered for the participation in the elections in the area shall be held valid for the repeat elections. Article
Filling in the Vacant Seats in the Council If, upon the termination of powers of a Council member, a vacant seat has to be filled in the local government Council, on the decision of the Central Electoral Committee adopted no later than within 10 days after the seat in the Council is vacated, the top unelected candidate from the organisation or coalition in whose list had been the candidate elected to the presently vacant seat shall become a member of the Council. Article
Loss of the Mandate of Council Member Each candidate for the post of Council member must publicly announce about his or her conscious cooperation with the special services of a foreign state, provided that he or she was not thereby carrying out the assignments of the Republic of Lithuania, whereas the election posters of organisations, nominating lists of candidates or coalitions must contain a corresponding notice if a person who consciously and not on the instruction of the Republic of Lithuania co-operated with the special services of a foreign state is in the list of its nominated candidates. If the candidate fails to act in the prescribed manner, and if after the elections his or her co-operation with the 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 law, his or her Council member powers shall be terminated from that day forward. I promulgate this Law passed by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania. President of the Republic Algirdas Brazauskas

🔗 Į oficialų šaltinį

DI paaiškinimas pagal oficialų įstatymo tekstą. Orientacinis, nepakeičia teisinės konsultacijos.