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official translation Official translation REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA LAW ON ELECTIONS TO THE SEIMAS 9 July 1992 No I-2721 Vilnius (Last amended on 22 December 2009 — No XI-616) 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 Population 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 A person who has been removed from office or his mandate of Seimas member has been revoked by the Seimas in accordance with impeachment proceedings may not be elected Seimas member.     6.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. The Central Electoral Commission shall, in the manner prescribed by it, 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 in the Internet 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 members 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 holding 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.  If the municipal administration fails to provide adequate  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 municipal administration. 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 publish in the Valstybės žinios (The Official Gazette) 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 Valstybės žinios ( The Official Gazette). 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) and has not been dismissed, in the course of the last three years, 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.    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 observer at the elections; a member of the electoral committee and an observer at the elections. 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 two representatives 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 the chairman of the 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) distribute the funds allocated for the election among the polling district committees, control how these funds are used and report to the Central Electoral Commission about the funds used for the election; 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) in a manner prescribed by the Central Electoral Commission, gather, describe and store data on political advertising disseminated publicly within a constituency during the election campaign and submit such data to the Central Electoral Commission;  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 committee by constituency electoral committees. 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 certificates 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; 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 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 furnish all necessary information to them. 2. State and municipal institutions and establishments, their officers and staff, firms, enterprises and their employees must consider, within 3 days, requests submitted to them by electoral committees and give the electoral committee a reasoned response. 3. Electoral committees may recruit a proper number of staff for additional work. 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 adequate premises and equipment for the preparation and conduct of elections. Article 23. Remuneration of Electoral Committee Members 1. For their work in electoral committees, the chairmen, their deputies and members of the committees shall be remunerated at the rates submitted by the Central Electoral Commission and approved by the Government. 2. The procedure for imposing incentive measures to the chairmen, their deputies 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 VOTER CERTIFICATES 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 population 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 Population 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 Population 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 voter certificate.    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 population 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 population 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 population register of the Republic of Lithuania. Electoral rolls compiled according to the data of the population 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 voters’ certificates, 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. Voter Certificate 1. A voter certificate shall be a document issued by an electoral committee specifying the polling district on the electoral roll of which a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania is recorded. Electoral committees shall hand in voter certificates signed by the chairman of an electoral committee. A voter himself, or at his request – any other person, may print his voter certificate 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. In this event, the voter himself shall sign his voter certificate, 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. One may not vote without a voter certificate (duplicate), except for voting on the ship. 2. A voter certificate shall contain: 1) the voter’s name and surname; 2) the voter’s birth date (year, month, day); 3) the voter’s address; 4) the name and number of a single-member constituency in which the voter votes; 5) 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; 6) the number of the voter in the electoral roll of a polling district; 7) the election date, the voting time at a polling station, the note that this certificate is obligatory when voting, other information  relevant for the voter or when organising the elections. 3. If a voter requests to issue him with a duplicate of a voter certificate in place of the lost one or of a voter certificate he has not received, a duplicate must be issued to the voter immediately right after the establishment of the data on the voter which must be entered in the certificate. Article 31. Delivery of the Voter Certificate 1. The delivery of voter certificates to voters shall be organised by the polling district committee. 2. Articles 70, 71, 72, and 73 of this Law shall lay down the procedure for delivering voter certificates 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 voter certificate shall be noted in the preliminary electoral roll of a polling district. A voter certificate shall be either delivered to the voter personally or to another person who lives together with the voter, or to a neighbour of the voter, who knows the voter and undertakes to deliver the certificate to the voter. The delivery of voter certificates to voters must be finished at least 20 days before the election. 4. The voter who has not received a voter certificate in due time or who has received a voter certificate with incorrect data, must forthwith inform the polling district committee in the territory of which he resides, and to 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 voter certificate 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 population 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). 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 voter certificate shall be issued and delivered to the voter  following the updating of the  electoral rolls. 5. A constituency electoral committee may, in the manner prescribed by the Central Electoral Commission, issue a voter’s certificate to a voter who is entered on the electoral roll of another constituency, if the said voter cannot return to his permanent place of residence to collect a voter certificate or to obtain it in some other manner. The voter must apply for this in writing.    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 If following the approval of the final electoral rolls, but no later than until 6:00 p.m. on the election day, a voter who has not been entered on the electoral roll of the polling district addresses the electoral committee of the polling district and submits the passport of the citizen of the Republic of Lithuania with the address of the place of residence recorded therein, or the passport or the identity card and a document concerning his stated place of residence (the place of residence must be attached to the territory of this polling district), the electoral committee of the polling district shall enter the voter on the additional electoral roll of the polling district, shall allow him to vote according to the procedure  established by the Central Electoral Commission  and shall immediately notify the voter’s surname, name, personal code, number of his passport or identity card, and address to the constituency electoral committee. The electoral committee of the constituency shall check whether or not the voter is entered on the electoral roll of the constituency and take measures to guarantee 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 that vote shall be counted which was put in the ballot box of the polling station. 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. 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 committee of a polling district may be within 3 days appealed against to the administrative tribunal of an appropriate county, which shall investigate the complaint within 3 days. The decision of the tribunal shall be final. 3. Complaints and comments shall  not be investigated after the expiration of  the term  established for filing comments or complaints. 4. Electoral committees of polling districts shall report to the constituency electoral committee about  the received complaints and changes made in the electoral rolls by the court’s decision, and the electoral committee of the constituency shall report to the Central Electoral Commission as soon as possible but no later than within 12 hours. CHAPTER V NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES  FOR SEIMAS MEMBER Article 37. Nomination of Candidates for the Seimas Member 1. Candidates for the Seimas member may be nominated: 1) no later than 65 days prior to the election, in single-member constituencies or the multi-member constituency – by the party which is registered pursuant to the Law on Political  Parties and which meets the requirements regarding the number of party members, laid down in the Law on Political Parties; 2) in a single-member constituency  - by every citizen of the Republic of Lithuania who qualifies to be elected as a Seimas member, may nominate himself for the Seimas member, provided his candidature is supported by signatures of no less than 1,000 voters of that constituency. 2. In the multi-member constituency parties shall  nominate their  candidates by presenting a list of candidates in which candidates are recorded in the succession established by the party. Unless the statutes of a party provide otherwise, candidates in single-member constituency and the list of the candidates, recorded in succession, in the multi-member constituency must be approved at the congress or conference of the party. The list of candidates (joint list) must not include less than 25 and more than 141 candidates. Article 38. Application Documents for the Nomination of Candidates 1. Parties must  file with  the Central  Electoral Committee the following application documents: 1) an application  for  the  participation  in  the  election; 2) copies of their registration papers; the programme and the election programme of the party may be submitted as well; 3) the list of  candidates nominated in the multi-member constituency; 4) the list of candidates nominated in a single-member constituency; 5) an obligation signed by each nominated candidate to terminate, if elected, his employment or any other activities incompatible with the status of Seimas member, the consent to be nominated by this party in a specific constituency, a questionnaire for a candidate for Seimas member filled in by the candidate himself, as well as the extracts containing the basic data from the income tax return and the personal property declaration submitted to the State Tax Inspectorate, approved by that Tax Inspectorate to which the return and declaration have been submitted, as well as a declaration of private interests and a pledge of the form set by the Central Electoral Commission to comply with the prohibition to bribe voters and persons eligible to vote. The party may submit photographs and autobiography of each candidate; 6) an authorisation for a representative for elections to represent it in the Central Electoral Commission;  the party shall also have the right to grant authorisation to represent it and the candidates nominated by it in the electoral committees of constituencies; 7) documents  certifying  that  the  election  deposit has been paid; 8) if the party nominated candidates or candidates’ lists during the preceding elections to the Seimas or municipal councils, it shall have the right to submit a copy of the report published in the press, which had to be published in pursuance of the laws on the elections to the Seimas and Municipal Councils, concerning the sources and use of funds for election campaign; 9) a copy of the financial statement for the preceding year, which had to be presented to the tax inspectorate pursuant to the Law on Political Parties, which has been approved by this tax inspectorate;  the party may also submit a copy of the account (report), which had to be publicly announced according to the Law on Political Parties, concerning the budget revenue and the sources thereof, expenditures and their purpose. 2. The person who decides to nominate himself for the candidates for Seimas member, must submit to the electoral committee of the constituency the following documents: 1) application  concerning his  nominating himself  for  the candidate for Seimas member in  this constituency; 2) a signed obligation to terminate, upon his election, his employment or any other activities incompatible with the status of Seimas member, a questionnaire for a candidate for Seimas member filled in by the candidate himself, as well as the extracts containing the principal data from the income tax return and the personal property declaration submitted to the State Tax Inspectorate, approved by that Tax Inspectorate to which the return and declaration have been submitted as well as a declaration of private interests and a pledge of the form set by the Central Electoral Commission to comply with the prohibition to bribe voters and persons eligible to vote. He may submit his photographs, autobiography; 3) a  document certifying  that election  deposit  has been paid. An authorisation by a candidate for represent him in the Central Electoral Commission and the electoral committee of the constituency may also be presented. 3. The constituency electoral committee shall within three days issue to the citizen who has decided to nominate himself as candidate for Seimas member individual forms with the first name and name of the candidate for the collection of voter signatures to collect signatures of voters of that constituency who support his self-nomination. The citizen who has decided to nominate himself as candidate for Seimas shall either himself collect voter signatures or charge other persons having the right to vote to perform the task. The person who collected the signatures shall put his signature at the end of the voter signatures collection form and shall be responsible for the collection of signatures according to the procedure laid down in this Law. In the form for the collection of signatures the citizen who supports the person’s self-nomination must himself  fill in the following data: name, …