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official translation REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA LAW ON ELECTIONS TO THE SEIMAS 9 July 1992  No I-2721 Vilnius (Last amended by 2 October 2012 — No XI-2268) CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS Article 1. The Principles of Elections of Seimas Members Members of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter - the Seimas) shall be elected for a term of four years in single-member constituencies and the multi-member constituency by universal and equal suffrage, in a secret ballot, during direct, mixed-system elections. Article 2. Universal Suffrage 1. Citizens of the Republic of Lithuania who, on the election day, are 18 years of age shall have the right to vote. Citizens who have been declared legally incompetent by the court shall not participate in elections. 2. Any citizen of the Republic of Lithuania who is not under allegiance to a foreign state and is at least 25 years of age on the election day, and who permanently resides in Lithuania may stand for election as a member of the Seimas. A citizen of the Republic of Lithuania shall be considered to be a permanent resident of the Republic of Lithuania, whose data about a place of residence are entered into the Residents’ Register of the Republic of Lithuania, or a citizen who, under the Civil Code, is recognised as having a permanent place of residence in the Republic of Lithuania.  3. Persons who, with 65 days remaining before elections, have not yet served their  sentence imposed by the court, as well as persons who have been declared legally incompetent and incapable by  the  court  may not stand for election as members of the Seimas. 4. Judges during their term of office, persons who on the election day are in the active or alternative military service, also servicemen of professional military service who, with 65 days remaining before elections, have not retired from the service, or officials of statutory institutions and establishments, or persons, who may not participate in activities of political parties according to special laws or statutes, may not stand for election as members of the Seimas. 5. A person who has been removed from office or his mandate of Seimas member has been revoked by the Seimas in accordance with impeachment proceedings may not be elected Seimas member, provided that less than four years have elapsed from the entry into force of the decision to remove from office or to revoke the mandate of Seimas member. 6. Other direct or indirect abridgements of suffrage of the citizens of the Republic of Lithuania on the grounds of their origin, political convictions, social or property status, nationality, sex, education, language, religion, or the type or character of their occupation shall be prohibited. Article 3. Equal Suffrage Every citizen of the Republic of Lithuania who has the right to vote shall have one vote in a single-member constituency and one vote in the multi-member constituency, and these votes shall have the same value as the votes of any other citizen who has the right to vote. Every voter shall have an equal right to express his opinion about the candidates who are on the list of candidates for which he votes in the multi-member constituency, and this opinion shall have the same value as the opinion of any other voter who has voted for this list. Article 4. Direct Elections There shall be no voting by proxy in the elections of the Seimas members. Article 5. Secret Ballot 1. Voters shall vote in person and by secret ballot. It shall be prohibited for a person to vote instead of another person or to vote by proxy. A voter who because of his physical disability cannot cast a ballot himself, may vote with the assistance of another person whom he trusts as laid down in Paragraph 6 of Article 66 of this Law. If the secret of another person’s voting has come to the knowledge of anyone, it shall be prohibited to disclose it. 2. It shall be prohibited to control the will of the voters during the elections. It shall be prohibited during the polls to influence the will of an elector to vote for or against any candidate or a list of candidates. A voter must have adequate conditions to mark his ballot in privacy and without interference. It shall be prohibited to handle the ballot in such a way that the secret of voting might be disclosed. Article 51. Prohibition to Bribe Voters and Persons Eligible to Vote 1. During the political campaign of elections to the Seimas, i.e. from announcement of the date of elections to the Seimas until the end of the period of election campaign as set out by this Law, as well as on the election day it shall be prohibited to directly or indirectly buy votes, to induce by offering gifts or other rewards a voter or a person eligible to vote to attend or not to attend elections and (or) to vote for or against one or another person to be nominated, a candidate or a list of candidates, as well as to promise to reward the voters for voting after the elections, by having a purpose to affect the will of voters regarding particular political parties or candidates, or persons to be nominated, and thus hinder citizens from implementing their right to vote. 2. Production or distribution free of charge of printed matter (a programme, biography of a political party or candidate, or a person to be nominated, or other leaflets, calendars, postcards, stickers of information character) and pins intended for propagating a political party or candidate, or a person to be nominated shall not be considered as bribery of voters. 3. Electoral committees shall, in the manner prescribed by the Central Electoral Commission, examine and evaluate the facts of bribery of voters or persons eligible to vote. The Central Electoral Commission shall announce the established facts of bribery on the website together with a pledge of the candidate who has violated this Article to adhere to the prohibition to bribe voters and persons eligible to vote. After the recognition of the facts of bribery of voters and persons entitled to vote as a grave violation of this Law, the consequences defined in this Law and other laws shall arise.              Article 6. Announcement of the Date of Elections to the Seimas 1. Regular elections to the Seimas shall be announced by the President of the Republic, and early elections to the Seimas may be announced by the Seimas or the President of the Republic. 2. Regular elections to the Seimas shall be held on the second Sunday of October, in the year of the expiration of the powers of the Seimas members. The said elections shall be announced by the President of Republic not later than six months prior to the expiration of the powers of the Seimas members. If, with four months remaining before the expiration of the powers of the Seimas members, the President of the Republic has not yet announced the date of regular elections to the Seimas, the Central Electoral Commission shall hold regular elections to the Seimas on the aforementioned date. 3. If regular elections to the Seimas must be held in time of war, the Seimas or the President of the Republic shall take a decision to prolong the powers of the Seimas. In this event, elections must be called not later than within three months after the end of war. 4. Early elections to the Seimas may be held by the decision of the Seimas adopted by at least three-fifths majority vote of all the Seimas members, or announced by the President of the Republic in the cases referred to in Paragraph 2 of Article 58 of the Constitution. The elections to the new Seimas must be held within three months from the adoption of the decision on the early elections. The election day to the new Seimas shall be indicated in the decree of the President of the Republic on the regular elections to the Seimas, and in the resolution of the Seimas or decree of the President of the Republic on the early elections to the Seimas. Regular elections to the Seimas, which follow early elections to the Seimas, shall be held on the date referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article. 5. The day when ballots are cast in the multi-member constituency and in the first election round in one-member constituencies shall be considered as an election day to a new Seimas. The day of the run-off voting shall be also considered an election day. Voting by post and in other ways provided for in this Law shall be carried out before an election day or shall be completed on an election day as laid down by this Law. The time limit which starts on the election day and may become effective only after the election results have been announced shall start from the day of proclamation of the final election results.    6. The date of by-election or rerun elections in a one-member constituency shall be announced by the Central Electoral Commission in the cases set out by this Law within 15 days after the day when the grounds for holding of such elections occur, unless otherwise provided for by this Law. Article 7. Openness of Preparation and Holding of Elections 1. Public notice about a forthcoming meeting of the electoral committee shall be put on the notice board placed in the premises where the electoral committee has its offices, and the members of this electoral committee shall be personally notified about the forthcoming meeting at least 24 hours before the start of the meeting. 2. Meetings and voting of electoral committees shall be open and may be observed by representatives and observers of political parties (hereinafter - parties), candidates for Seimas member upon presenting certificates of the established form or credentials with the seal of the organisations which have authorised them; representatives of the mass media, upon presenting their authority or service cards. A candidate for Seimas member may participate in the meeting of an electoral committee if: a decision concerning his personal activities or circumstances directly related to his person is being adopted or if he has been invited to participate in the meeting by the chairman of the electoral committee. 3. Persons present in the conference room may, from their seats, record, write down in shorthand or take down everything that is said at the meeting, photograph, film or make video recordings. Taking photographs, filming, and video recording which requires walking about the hall or using special lighting equipment, as well as live radio or television broadcasting of meetings shall be subject to the permission of the electoral committee chairman. 4. Electoral committees may not hold closed meetings. The Central Electoral Commission may prohibit anyone from entering the workroom of the service staff of electoral committees, document safe-keeping premises if it is necessary to guarantee undisturbed working conditions of the staff and to protect election documents. 5. If there are reasons to believe that during a meeting a threat to the security of an electoral committee or its participants may arise, the chairman of the committee may instruct the police to check the documents and belongings of the persons entering the conference room or carry out their personal search.  6. The electoral committee may remove from the meeting hall persons who interfere with the work of the committee. Article 8. Expenditure Related to the Preparation and Conduct of Elections Expenditure related to the preparation and conduct of elections shall be covered from the state and municipal budgets. The expenditure of electoral committees related to the organisation and conduct of elections and the work of the members of electoral committees and the service staff shall be covered from the state budget. Maintenance of the office space of constituency electoral committees and polling district committees, expenditure of purchasing and keeping of the equipment of polling stations shall be covered from municipal budgets. Transportation of voters to polling districts for voting, where such transportation is organised in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission, shall be covered from the state and municipal budgets. If the municipality fails to provide suitable premises and supplies for the office of the polling district and the polling station, by the decision of the Central Electoral Commission, state funds shall be used for this purpose. In such a case, the actual expenses for the polling station and its supplies shall be recovered without suit by the Central Electoral Commission from the municipality. CHAPTER II Constituencies and Polling Districts Article 9. Formation of Constituencies 1. For  the  organisation  and  conduct of elections,  the territory of  the Republic  of Lithuania shall be divided into 71 single-member constituencies, taking into  consideration  the number of  inhabitants in the constituency, the division of the territory of the Republic of Lithuania into single-member constituencies during previous elections to the Seimas, and the administrative-territorial division of the Republic of Lithuania. A constituency shall be formed from polling districts which have common boundaries. The number of voters in constituencies must be from 0.8 to 1.2 of the average number of voters in all single-member constituencies. The Central Electoral Commission, no later than 95 days before the election, shall establish, and no later than 90 days before the election, shall announce in the official gazette Valstybės žinios the list of polling districts forming a constituency, the addresses and telephone numbers of their polling stations, the number of voters in the constituency, and the addresses and telephone numbers of constituency electoral committees. 2. One multi-member constituency shall also be formed where all citizens of the Republic of Lithuania eligible to vote shall cast their votes. 70 Seimas members shall be elected in this constituency according to the proportional system of elections. Article 10. Formation of Polling Districts 1. With a view of making it more convenient for a voter to reach a polling station and with account of the number of voters, the territories of cities and regions shall be divided into polling districts. 2. The division of the territory of a town or region into polling districts, which shall be permanent during elections and referenda, shall be changed, where necessary, by the Central Electoral Commission on the recommendation of the mayor. The Central Electoral Commission shall publish a list of approved polling districts, and changes made therein in the official gazette Valstybės žinios. 3. No more than 5, 000 voters must reside within the territory of a polling district.  4. The boundaries of a polling district and the address of the polling station shall be changed, where necessary, but no later than 100 days prior to the election. In his recommendation to approve the division of the territory of the municipality into polling districts, the mayor shall specify the proposed name of the polling district, the addresses belonging to the polling district, the number of voters in the district, the address and telephone number of the polling station. The recommendation on changes in the division of the municipality into polling districts shall specify the changes it is proposing. These changes must be submitted to the Central Electoral Commission at least 110 days prior to the election. In the event when it is impossible to hold polls at the polling stations established earlier, the Central Electoral Commission, on the recommendation of the constituency electoral committee, may change the address of the polling station within a shorter time limit than the one specified in this Article.    CHAPTER III ORGANISATION of Elections Article 11. Electoral Committees 1. Elections to the Seimas shall be organised and conducted by: 1) the Central Electoral Commission; 2) constituency electoral committees; and 3) polling district  committees. 2. A citizen of the Republic of Lithuania may be nominated to the electoral committee provided he is eligible to stand in election as a member of the Seimas (without taking into consideration the minimum age limit set for a Seimas candidate, but who is not younger than 18 years of age on the election day), has higher education and has not been dismissed, in the course of the last three elections to the Seimas, the office to the President of the Republic, municipal councils or referenda, from the an electoral or referendum committee due to violations of the Law on Elections to the Seimas, the Law on Presidential Elections, the Law on Elections to Municipal Councils or the Law on the Referendum. The requirements to have higher education shall not apply to a member of a polling district committee as well as to a chairman of a polling district committee having the experience of impeccable work as a member or chairman of an electoral committee, and to a member or chairman of a constituency electoral committee having the experience of impeccable work as a member or chairman of a constituency electoral committee.           3. The same person cannot concurrently be: a member of the electoral committee and a candidate for Seimas member; a candidate for Seimas member and a representative for the election; a representative for the election and a member of the electoral committee; a candidate for Seimas member and an election observer; a member of the electoral committee and an election observer. If a member of the electoral committee seeks to stand in election as a member of the Seimas, at least 10 days in advance of giving his consent to stand for election as a member of the Seimas or before he starts collecting the signatures, he must resign from the post of a member of the electoral committee. If a member of the electoral committee fails to do so he shall be dismissed from the electoral committee for the violation of this Law and shall be not registered as a candidate for Seimas member or his name shall be struck off the list of candidates. Article 12. Repealed on 20 June 2002 Article 13. Repealed on 20 June 2002 Article 14. Repealed on 20 June 2002 Article 15.  Formation of Constituency Electoral Committees 1. The Central   Electoral Committee shall for the period of elections form constituency electoral committees no later than 74 days in advance of the elections. 2. Constituency electoral committees shall be composed of: 1) a person nominated by the Minister of Justice, having a university law degree, who resides or works in the territory of the municipality the whole or a part whereof  has been designated to this constituency;  2) a person nominated by the Lithuanian Lawyers’ Association, having a university law degree, who resides or works in the territory of the municipality the whole or a part whereof has been designated to this constituency; 3) a career public servant nominated by the mayor and employed in the administration of the municipality the whole or a part whereof has been designated to this constituency;               4) persons nominated by parties  which  have received the  mandates of the Seimas members in the  multi-member  constituency. 3. The Minister of Justice, the Lithuanian Lawyers' Society and the mayor may nominate more candidates. If the territory of a constituency is made up of territories of several municipalities, the committee must include career public servants employed in the administration of all of these municipalities, nominated by the mayors of these municipalities.    4. Parties which have received the mandates of the Seimas members in the multi-member constituency according to the list (joint list) of candidates shall each have the right to nominate one representative to constituency electoral committees from one list of candidates nominated in this constituency. If the representatives meet the requirements of this Law, the Central Electoral Commission may not turn down said candidacies. If candidates have not been nominated, the Central Electoral Commission may, instead of them, additionally appoint as members of the Committee persons nominated by the Minister of Justice, the Lithuanian Lawyers' Society or a mayor. 5. In all cases, no less than 3 committee members must be persons who have been appointed to constituency electoral committees from among the candidates nominated by the Minister of Justice, the Lithuanian Lawyers' Society or a mayor. If the number of such persons is less, additional members to the committee shall be appointed from among the candidates nominated by the Minister of Justice, the Lithuanian Lawyers' Society or a mayor. 6. If elections to the Seimas or elections of the President of the Republic, or elections to the European Parliament, or elections to municipal councils, or a referendum is concurrently held on the same day, the same polling district committees or referendum committees shall be formed. The Central Electoral Commission shall form a single – municipal election, constituency or referendum – committee in a separate electoral, referendum territory and shall define its functions in organising and conducting other elections or a referendum. 7. The Central Electoral Commission shall appoint a chairman of a constituency electoral committee from the members of the committee. A person having the experience of working as a chairman or member of the Central Electoral Commission or a constituency electoral committee or a municipal electoral commission, the experience of working as a chairman of polling district committee shall be appointed as chairman of a constituency electoral committee. 8. During its first meeting, the constituency electoral committee shall elect the deputy chairman and the secretary of the committee. Article 16.  Powers of the Constituency Electoral Committee The constituency electoral committee shall: 1) inform,  in the manner established by the Central Electoral Commission,  the voters who reside in the constituency about the boundaries  of  the polling  districts,  their offices, their working hours and polling stations; 2) supervise the implementation of this Law in the constituency; 3) form polling district committees; 4) without exceeding the constituency electoral committee’s estimate approved by the Central Electoral Commission, approve the estimate of expenditure of polling district committees and control how these funds, provided for in the estimates, are used; 5) register election observers and issue certificates to them; 6) monitor voting by post in the territory of the constituency 7) make up a list of healthcare (with the exception of outpatient health care institutions), social care and guardianship institutions, military units, arrest houses, remand prisons (detention facilities) and penal institutions situated in the territory of the constituency, and together with the head of the post office make arrangements to organise voting by post in those institutions as well as organise early voting; 8) draw up the  vote counting  record of  the constituency; 9) monitor political advertising within a constituency during the election campaign and submit monitoring data to the Central Electoral Commission in a manner prescribed by it;  10) consider complaints against decisions and actions of the polling committees and adopt decisions, repeal decisions which contravene the requirements of laws and other legal acts; 11) exercise  other powers provided for in this Law. Article 17.  Formation of Polling District Committees 1. No later than 65 days prior to the election, the constituency electoral committee shall determine the number of the members of each polling district committee that must be a multiple of the number of the parties (their coalitions) which have the right to nominate candidates to electoral committees. If the number of the nominated candidates is insufficient or if there is a vacancy in the committee, the mayor of the  municipality in the territory whereof the polling district is formed may nominate the needed candidates. 2. An equal number of candidates to the polling district committee may be nominated by: 1) each party or a coalition of parties which received mandates of the Seimas members in the multi-member constituency during the last election. If a party received mandates of the Seimas members while in a coalition, the candidates may be nominated together with the parties in this coalition; 2) a party or a coalition of parties which during the last election to the council of the municipality to the territory whereof the polling district belongs received mandates of the municipal council members  according to the list of the nominated candidates.  3. If a party may nominate candidates in accordance with the results of both the elections to the Seimas and municipal elections it shall nominate its candidates only  according to the results of one of said elections, whichever it chooses. If one of the parties which took part in an election coalition fails to nominate candidates or refuses to nominate them, or if it chooses to nominate candidates according to the results of another election  when the coalition was formed, the other parties in this coalition have the right to nominate candidates without the participation of said party. 4. A party shall submit its list of candidates for the members of polling district committees to the constituency polling district committee no later than 48 days prior to the election. 5. Polling district committees for the period of the election shall be formed by constituency electoral committees no later than 45 days before the elections. If the candidate nominated by the party meets the requirements of this Law the constituency electoral committee may not turn him down. 6. If no candidates have been nominated or the nominated candidates do not meet the requirements of this Law, or if they have been nominated after the expiration of the prescribed time limit, constituency electoral committees may reduce the number of members of the polling district committee established earlier or may ask the mayor to nominate the lacking number of candidates to the polling district committees. The candidates nominated by the mayor may not be party members or become party members until the expiration of the term of office of an electoral committee member. If during a meeting of a constituency electoral committee which appoints a member of the polling district committee nominated by the mayor no less than three members of the constituency electoral committee object to the appointment of the candidate, this candidate may not be appointed a member of the committee.  A polling district committee must be made up of at least 5 members. 7. Chairmen of polling district committees shall be appointed from among the members of the committees by constituency electoral committees. A person having the experience of working as a chairman or member of an electoral committee or a person having higher education shall be appointed as chairman of a polling district committee. 8. During its first meeting the polling district committee shall elect the deputy chairman and the secretary of the committee. Article 18. Powers of the Polling District Committee The polling district committee shall: 1) receive electoral rolls from the constituency electoral committee, provide conditions for voters, representatives of parties at the elections to familiarise themselves with said lists, hand or deliver in some other way poll cards to voters, inform the constituency electoral committee about inaccuracies noticed in the electoral roll of a polling district; 2) investigate complaints about the errors made in electoral rolls; 3) in the manner prescribed by the Central Electoral Commission, monitor postal voting conducted in the territory of a polling district in order to create conditions for voting by post in all healthcare (except outpatient healthcare institutions), social care and guardianship institutions, military units, arrest houses, remand prisons (detention facilities) and penal institutions situated in the territory of the polling district, as well as organise voting at home; 4) together with a representative of the municipality administration make arrangements in accordance with the requirements set forth in this Law about a timely preparation of the polling station, voting booths and ballot boxes; 5) organise voting in the polling district on the election day; 6) count votes and draw up the vote counting record of the polling district and transmit the data of this counting record via electronic means of communication in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission; 7) consider the complaints of the voters and observers of their electoral district on issues concerning preparation of the elections, organisation of polls, vote counting, drawing up a vote counting record, and adopt decisions related to them; and 8) exercise  other powers provided for in this Law. Article 19. A Written Pledge of Electoral Committee Members 1. A member of an electoral committee, its chairman shall take office upon having given a written pledge. 2. The Central Electoral Commission shall establish the procedure for giving a written pledge for members and chairmen of constituency and polling district committees. When giving a written pledge, a person shall have the right to choose one of the following texts of a written pledge, established in this paragraph, and to give a written pledge pursuant to the chosen text. The following texts of a written text of a member of an electoral committee shall read as follows: 1) “I, (first name, name), swear to be faithful to the Republic of Lithuania, observe its Constitution and laws, in good faith and conscientiously perform my duties in the electoral committee and refrain from actions violating laws and the human rights. So help me God.” 2) “I, (first name, name), swear to be faithful to the Republic of Lithuania, observe its Constitution and laws, in good faith and conscientiously perform my duties in the electoral committee and refrain from actions violating laws and the human rights.” 3. The person who has given the written pledge shall sign the text of the pledge. The text of the written pledge may not be altered. The written pledge shall be effective for the whole duration of the appointment to work in the electoral committee. 4. The written pledges of the members and chairmen of the electoral committees shall remain in the custody of the electoral committees which have appointed them. 5. When appointing an electoral committee member, the electoral committee shall fix the date by which he must give a written pledge. The person who has not given a written pledge for more than 15 days after his appointment may not commence performing his duties in the electoral committee.    Article 20. Organisation of the Work of Electoral Committees 1. Meetings of electoral committees shall be valid provided that at least three-fifths of the members of the committee are in attendance. Decisions of the committees shall be adopted by open vote of the majority of the committee members participating at the meeting. In the event  of a tie vote, the committee chairman shall have the casting  vote. Committee members who do not agree with the decision shall have the right to give a separate opinion in writing, which shall then be appended to the minutes of the meeting and shall be its constituent part. 2. After the close of elections, the powers of the chairmen and members of constituency electoral committees and of polling district committees shall be suspended.  The decision to suspend the powers shall be adopted by the electoral committee which appointed the committee members, provided this committee and its chairman have fulfilled all the tasks assigned to him under law. 3. The chairman or a member of an electoral committee who has given a written pledge shall be prohibited from any form of election campaign or to influence the voters' will in any other way. Individuals who violate this requirement, the written pledge of a member of the electoral committee must be dismissed from the committee and may be held liable in the manner established by law. Article 21. Appeals against Decisions of Electoral Committees Adopted before Closing of the Polls 1. A party which has nominated a candidate for Seimas member, a person running for election to the Seimas, a representative for elections, and an election observer may appeal the decision of the electoral committee which was adopted before closing of the polls or against any other act of the committee: 1) an appeal against a polling district committee decision shall be lodged with the constituency electoral committee; 2) an appeal against the decision of a constituency electoral committee decision  shall be lodged with the Central Electoral Commission; 3) an appeal  against the Central Electoral Commission decision shall be lodged with the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania. 2. A voter, a representative for the election who does not agree with the decision of the polling district committee which has been adopted in reply to his appeal about the errors made in the electoral roll which did not let him exercise his right to vote (he has been incorrectly entered on the electoral roll or his name has been struck off the electoral roll or when the data in the list about the voter has been inaccurate), may lodge an appeal against the decision of the polling district committee to the administrative court of an appropriate county. 3. Decisions of the Central Electoral Commission or its other acts may be appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania within 5 days after adoption of a decision but no later than before the closing of the polls. Appeals must be investigated within 48 hours of lodging them. Days off shall also be included in this period. The decision of the Tribunal shall become effective from its pronouncement. 4. Appeals lodged not in the manner established by this Article shall not be examined and shall be forwarded to the electoral committee which must examine them. The polling district committee, the constituency electoral committee may not forward to the Central Electoral Commission appeals for investigation which fall within their respective competence and have not been investigated. Article 22. Assistance for Electoral Committees and Allocation of State Budget Funds to Constituency Electoral Committees to Organise Elections 1. State and municipal institutions and establishments, their officers and staff, enterprises and their employees must assist electoral committees in exercising their powers and must provide documents necessary for performing functions of the committees. 2. State and municipal institutions and establishments, their officers and staff, enterprises and their employees must consider, within 3 days, requests submitted to them by electoral committees and give the electoral committee reasoned responses. 3. Chairman of a constituency electoral committee shall enjoy the right to conclude employment contracts with employees needed to carry out auxiliary works related organization of elections. Such employment contracts shall be concluded by the chairman of a constituency electoral committee in the name of the Central Electoral Commission, under the authorization. The Government shall, on the recommendation of the Central Electoral Commission, approve the procedure for paying the employed staff for work in electoral committees and the amount of such payment. 4. State and municipal institutions and establishments, their officers and staff, enterprises and their employees must provide to electoral committees suitable premises, equipment, computer hardware and internet connection for the preparation and conduct of elections. Suitability of polling stations provided for elections and their installation for needs of voters with mobility and (or) vision impairment and older voters must be evaluated by municipal institutions responsible for adjusting public buildings for special needs. 5. The state budget funds allocated for constituency electoral committees to organize elections shall be transferred by the Central Electoral Commission to a bank account opened by the Central Electoral Commission for each constituency electoral committee. 6. The Chairman of the Central Electoral Commission shall sign with the chairman of a constituency electoral committee an agreement on the use of state budget funds to organise elections, indicating: 1) the sum of the state budget funds transferred to the constituency electoral committee as well as the programme of the Central Electoral Commission under which the funds are being allocated; 2) the target purpose of the use of the state budget funds; 3) planned, detailed distribution of the budget funds according to economic purpose of expenses and calculation of remuneration-related expenses (appended to the agreement); 4) the procedure of reporting to the Central Electoral Commission for organisation of elections; 5) the procedure for reporting to the Central Electoral Commission for the use of the state budget funds (including the economic purpose of the expenses) and the submission of accounting documents supporting the use of the funds; 6) other provisions helping the Central Electoral Commission to ensure the legality, cost-effectiveness, effectiveness and efficiency of the implementation of the programmes and the use of the allocated appropriations. 7. The Central Electoral Commission shall transfer state budget funds to organise elections to the accounts referred to in paragraph 5 according to the estimates of constituency electoral committees approved by the Central Electoral Commission. 8. The chairman of a constituency electoral committee shall control the use of the state budget funds allocated for the constituency electoral committee to organize elections and shall account to the Central Electoral Committee for their use. 9. The Central Electoral Commission shall verify a report submitted by the chairman of the constituency electoral committee on the use of the state budget funds to organise elections as well as the documents substantiating such costs. After finding the financing, spending or accounting irregularities, the Central Electoral Committee shall initiate the recovery of all damages from those responsible. 10. The damage incurred during the period of validity of an agreement on the use of state budget funds to organise elections, the chairman of the constituency electoral committee shall be also responsible after the expiration of the said agreement. Article 23. Remuneration of Electoral Committee Members 1. For their work in electoral committees, the chairmen, their deputies, secretaries and members of the committees shall be remunerated at the rates submitted by the Central Electoral Commission and approved by the Government. 2. The members, chairmen, deputy chairmen and secretaries of electoral committees shall be paid for work in such committees according to the data of the time sheets without exceeding the appropriations earmarked for a respective electoral committee for remuneration. The procedure for filling time sheets at the electoral committees shall be laid down by the Central Electoral Commission. The chairman of a respective electoral committee shall be responsible for the accuracy of the data provided in the time sheets. Working time limits provided for in the Labour Code of the Republic of Lithuania shall not apply to work at electoral committees. 3. The description of the procedure for imposing incentive measures to the chairmen, their deputies, secretaries and members of the electoral committees shall be approved by the Government on the recommendation of the Central Electoral Commission. Article 24.  Changing of the Composition of Electoral Committees 1. The chairman or a member of an electoral committee may be removed from his office in the committee by the electoral committee which approved the composition of said committee, or the Central Electoral Commission. 2. The electoral committee may consider only a reasoned proposal of a party or a coalition to recall a member of the electoral committee whom it has nominated. 3. A new chairman or a member of the electoral committee shall be appointed, as necessary, in accordance with the procedure established by this Law, even after the expiration of the time period specified in paragraph 1 of Article 15, and paragraph 5 of Article 17. CHAPTER IV Electoral rolls and POLL CARDS Article 25. Electoral rolls 1. For the organisation and conduct of elections, the following electoral rolls shall be compiled: 1) the electoral roll of the Republic of Lithuania; 2) single -member constituency electoral rolls; and 3) polling district electoral rolls. 2. Electoral rolls shall be drawn up two times - preliminary and final. These lists may be used only for the organisation and conduct of elections. 3. The procedure for compiling electoral rolls must be such that every citizen of the Republic of Lithuania who is eligible to vote is entered on electoral rolls. No one may be entered on an electoral roll more than once. 4. Repealed 5. The electoral roll of the Republic of Lithuania and single-member constituency electoral rolls which are compiled and kept by the keeper of the Residents’ Register shall be drawn up in the electronic information media. Electoral rolls of polling districts shall be printed. The procedure and form of drawing-up of electoral rolls, the method of drawing up and the manner of their use shall be determined by the Central Electoral Commission. The following data shall be used when drawing up electoral rolls: 1) in the electoral roll of the Republic of Lithuania: name, surname, personal number, date of birth, number of the personal document confirming the citizenship, the address of the place of residence and the grounds for and the date of the entry of the said address into the Residents’ Register; 2) in the single-member constituency electoral roll: name, surname, personal number, date of birth, the address of the place of residence and the grounds for and the date of the entry into the Residents’ Register; 3) in the polling district electoral roll: name, surname and the address of the place of residence. The addresses of the voters who have refused to consent that their addresses of the place of residence would be announced in the polling district electoral roll, shall be indicated in the annex to the printed polling district electoral roll, and in the poll card. 6. Each voter shall have the right to refuse to consent that the address of his place of residence would be publicly announced in the polling district electoral roll. The Central Electoral Commission shall, in conjunction with the keeper of the Residents’ Register, create conditions for a voter to exercise his right not to consent that the address of his place of residence would be announced in the polling district electoral roll. Article 26. General Procedure for Registering Citizens in Electoral rolls 1. All citizens of the Republic of Lithuania who have the right to vote shall be entered on the electoral roll of the Republic of Lithuania according to the data of issuance of the document (passport or identity card) certifying citizenship, and according to the Residents’ Register of the Republic of Lithuania. State and municipal institutions and establishments which issue documents certifying citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, keep information related to the statement of citizens’ residence, register citizens’ death and loss of citizenship shall also be responsible for a timely and proper updating of the Residents' Register of the Republic of Lithuania. Electoral rolls compiled according to the data of the Residents’ Register of the Republic of Lithuania shall be preliminary lists. 2. Compiling, updating and keeping of electoral rolls shall be organised by the Central Electoral Commission on the basis of the information furnished by central and local government institutions and constituency electoral committees. 3. The following persons shall be removed from the electoral roll of the Republic of Lithuania: a diseased citizen of the Republic of Lithuania; a person who has lost the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania; and a citizen who has been declared legally incompetent by the court. 4. At least 7 days in advance of the election, updated preliminary electoral rolls acknowledged in the manner established by the Central Electoral Commission shall be approved as final electoral rolls. Changes in final electoral rolls may be made only subject to the consent of the Central Electoral Commission. Article 27. Electoral rolls of One-Member Constituencies The electoral roll of a constituency in the magnetic media shall be made by the Central Electoral Commission according to the electoral roll of the Republic of Lithuania and the place of residence of a voter indicated therein (the most recent known place of residence), and shall be delivered to the constituency electoral committee at least 39 days before the election.  Electoral rolls of voters residing abroad shall be also drawn up and shall be delivered to diplomatic missions and consular posts of the Republic of Lithuania. A list of citizens whose place of residence is unknown shall be also compiled. Article 28. Electoral rolls of Polling Districts The electoral roll of a polling district shall be drawn up by the constituency electoral committee according to the electoral roll of the constituency and the place of residence indicated therein, and shall be delivered to the polling district committee at least 26 days prior to the election. A list of citizens whose place of residence is not specifically known shall be also compiled. Voters, ship crew members and passengers who are unable to return to Lithuania during the period of voting by post or on the election day, shall, according to the procedure established by the Central Electoral Commission, be entered on the electoral roll of the polling district in the territory where the ship’s registration harbour or the administration of the ship’s owner is located. Article 29. Public Announcement of Electoral Rolls and Access to Electoral Rolls 1. At least 25 days before the elections, an electoral committee of a polling district, a diplomatic mission shall provide conditions for the voters to have access to electoral rolls of the polling district. Only the data which concern a particular voter and which are contained in the annexes to the electoral roll of the polling district shall be provided to such voter. It shall be prohibited to make copies of the electoral rolls of the polling districts or to copy or disseminate such rolls in any other way. The business hours of electoral committee members as well as the telephone numbers for electors to make inquiries about whether they are entered on the electoral roll must be on display at the entrance to the premises of the electoral committee. Following expiration of the time period for delivering poll cards, as prescribed by this Law, the business hours of the electoral committee of the polling district, its telephones must be on display in stairwell entrances of multi-family apartment houses. The time and place for the voters to exercise their right to have access to electoral rolls shall be on display in a diplomatic mission, at the entrance to the premises of the electoral committee of the polling district. 2. The electoral roll of the Republic of Lithuania and electoral rolls of single-member constituencies shall not be announced publicly, however, the information about the entry of a voter on the electoral roll may be provided to the voter by telephone. Article 30. Poll Card 1. A poll card shall be an information certificate about elections, designated for a voter; a nominal invitation to go to the polls. Electoral committees shall deliver to voters poll cards together with other information about elections or shall organise such delivery. A voter himself, or at his request – any other person, may print or write out his poll card in accordance with the data of the electoral roll of the Republic of Lithuania received electronically pursuant to the procedure established by the Central Electoral Commission (by the internet or the short message service). In this event, the voter himself shall sign his poll card, except for the cases when because of the physical handicaps he himself cannot sign it and it is signed by another person chosen by the voter, indicating his name, surname and personal number. Forms of poll cards which a voter may fill in himself shall be distributed by electoral committees. A poll card shall be obligatory only in the cases when a voter votes not in a polling district not an election day. 2. A poll card shall indicate: 1) the voter’s name and surname; 2) the voter’s home residence; 3) the name, number of a polling district on the electoral roll of which the voter has been entered, as well as the address of a polling station; 4) the name and number of a single-member constituency to the territory of which the polling district is assigned; 5) the number of the voter in the electoral roll of the polling district; 6) the election date, the voting time at the polling station of the polling district, the invitation to go to the polls, other information  relevant for the voter or when organising the elections. 3. If a voter requests to issue him with a poll card in place of the lost one or of a poll card he has not received, a poll card must be issued to the voter immediately right after the establishment of the data on the voter which must be entered on the poll card. Article 31. Delivery of Poll Cards 1. The delivery of poll cards to voters shall be organised by a polling district committee. 2. Articles 70, 71, 72, and 73 of this Law shall lay down the procedure for delivering poll cards to voters who are in healthcare institutions (except outpatient healthcare institutions), social care and guardianship institutions, military units, arrest houses, remand prisons (detention facilities) and penal institutions, as well as to those gone abroad. 3. The delivery of a poll card shall be noted in the preliminary electoral roll of a polling district. A poll card shall be either delivered to the voter, who is entitled to vote at home, personally or to another person residing with such a voter. If the poll card cannot be delivered because the voter or the person residing with him is not at home, the poll card shall be returned to the polling district committee, this fact shall be noted in the preliminary electoral roll and a general invitation to go to the polls shall be left for the voter. This invitation may be put into a mailbox or handed to the voter’s neighbour who knows the voter and undertakes to give it to the voter. The delivery of poll cards to voters must be finished at least 8 days before elections. If elections of the President of the Republic or elections to the European Parliament, or elections to municipal councils, or a referendum is concurrently held during the same period, or run-off voting is carried out, only one poll card shall handed. 4. The voter who has not received a poll card in due time or who has received a poll card with incorrect data, must forthwith inform the polling district committee within the territory of which he resides, and produce his passport or other document confirming his identity to the electoral committee. If the voter is entered on the electoral roll of this polling district, the polling district committee must write out a new poll card for the voter and issue it to him immediately. If the voter is not entered on the electoral roll of this polling district, but the address of his residence according to the data of the Residents’ Register falls within the territory of this polling district or if the voter produces other evidence testifying that he resides within the territory of this polling district, the polling district committee shall ask him to fill out an application form established by the Central Electoral Commission for entering the voter on the electoral roll of this polling district (or this application form may be filled out by a member of the polling district committee, or the voter may submit this application electronically in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission). The polling district committee shall forthwith notify about it the constituency electoral committee which must cause to have the voter entered on the basis of this application on the electoral roll of that polling district. The poll card shall be issued and delivered to the voter following the updating of the electoral rolls. Article 32. Updating of Electoral rolls before Drawing up Final Lists 1. Preliminary electoral rolls shall be updated when transferring a voter from one electoral roll of a constituency or a polling district into another, when removing a voter from or registering him in the electoral roll of the Republic of Lithuania. 2. A voter shall be transferred from one electoral roll into another if it transpires that the address of his place of residence in the preliminary list is incorrect or it has changed after said list was made. 3. Transferring of a voter from the electoral roll of one polling district into another in the same constituency shall be the responsibility of the constituency electoral committee which shall notify the Central Electoral Commission about the changes made in electoral rolls of polling districts. Transferring of a voter from the electoral roll of one constituency into another shall be the responsibility of the Central Electoral Commission on the recommendation of the constituency electoral committee and the Central Electoral Commission shall notify constituency  electoral committees about the changes made. A voter may be entered on or removed from the electoral roll of the Republic of Lithuania only by the Central Electoral Commission in  cases specified in Article 26 of this Law. Article 33. Registration of Citizens of the Republic of Lithuania Who Are Staying Abroad in Electoral rolls                 1. Citizens of the Republic of Lithuania who are staying in other states shall be entered on the electoral roll of the single-member constituency in the territory whereof the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania is situated. 2. A diplomatic mission of the Republic of Lithuania shall, at least 15 days before the election to the Seimas, submit to the Central Electoral Commission the electoral roll compiled in the diplomatic mission, as well as a report about its updating. Added to this list may be the voters who, during the period of voting by post or on the election day, are not able to return to Lithuania and are voting in the diplomatic mission. Article 34. Entering on Electoral Rolls of Voters who are in Military Units, on Ships, in Arrest Houses, Remand Prisons (Detention Facilities) and Penal Institutions 1. Voters performing the mandatory military service shall be entered on the electoral rolls of the polling district on whose territory they permanently resided before they were summoned for the mandatory military service. 2. Voters performing the active military service, civil service or working under the employment contract in international military operations abroad shall be entered on the electoral rolls of the polling district on whose territory they declared their place of residence. 3. The voters who are aboard a ship and who will be unable to return to Lithuania during the period of voting by post or to be present on the election day, shall be entered on the additional electoral roll of the polling district on whose electoral roll the ship’s crew is entered. 4. Voters who are in arrest houses, remand prisons (detention facilities) or penal institutions shall be entered on the electoral rolls of the polling district within territory of which they have declared their place of residence. If such a person has not declared a place of residence and upon his written request, he shall be entered on the electoral roll of the polling district within the territory of which the penal institution, arrest house or remand prison (detention facility) is situated. A person who declared his place of residence before he has been put into a penal institution, arrest house or remand prison (detention facility), may not be entered on the electoral roll of the polling district within the territory of which the penal institution, arrest house or remand prison (detention facility) is situated. Article 35. Updating Electoral rolls upon Compiling Final Electoral Rolls as well as on the Election Day 1. If following the approval of the final electoral rolls, but no later than until 6pm on polling day, a district electoral commission is addressed by a voter who has not been entered on the electoral roll of that polling district and submits the passport of the citizen of the Republic of Lithuania with the address of the place of his residence indicated in it or the passport or the identity card and the document certifying the declared place of residence (the place of residence must be assigned the territory of this polling district), the district electoral commission shall enter the voter on the additional electoral roll of the polling district and allow him to vote according to the procedure established by the Central Electoral Commission, and immediately communicate the voter’s name, surname, personal number, the number of his passport or identity card as well as his address to the constituency electoral commission. The constituency electoral commission shall check whether the voter has been entered on the electoral roll of the constituency and take measures to ensure that the voter would not be able to vote twice or the ballot papers filled by him would be counted only once. If the voter has voted twice, only the vote which was put in the ballot box of the polling district shall be counted. The other vote of the voter, received by post or cast according to the additional electoral roll of the polling district shall not be counted. 2. On polling day a voter who has not yet voted may, in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission, vote in another polling district of his single-member constituency, provided that all the polling districts of this constituency are connected through electronic means of communication to the electronic electoral roll and the district electoral commissions can confirm that the voter has not voted in any of the polling districts, and the electoral commission of the polling district on whose electoral roll the said voter is entered confirms that an entry has been made in the electoral roll of this polling district regarding the arrival of the said voter to vote at another polling district and the voter's vote, if received by post, will not be counted. Article 36. Complaints about Electoral Rolls 1. A voter or a representative of the party may lodge complaints with the electoral committee of the polling district no later than 7 days before the election about the errors made in electoral rolls due to which the voter has not been entered on the electoral roll in the manner prescribed by this Law or has been entered on several electoral rolls. The electoral committee of the polling district must investigate the complaint and adopt a decision thereon either immediately or within 2 days of the receipt thereof, if more than 10 days are left until the election day. 2. The decision of the electoral comm …