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This law establishes the fundamental principles and procedures for electing members of municipal councils in the…

Apie ką šis teisės aktas?

This law establishes the fundamental principles and procedures for electing members of municipal councils in the Republic of Lithuania, ensuring universal, equal, direct, and secret suffrage. It outlines who can vote and be elected, how elections are organized, and the financial aspects involved.

Kam taikoma: Permanent residents of a municipality who are 18 years of age or older on election day; Permanent residents of a municipality who are at least 20 years of age on election day and wish to be elected as a municipal councillor.

Svarbiausia

Šalis
Lietuva
Teisės sritis
Konstitucinė teisė ir žmogaus teisės
Straipsniai
90
Šaltinis
e-seimas.lrs.lt
Tekstas gautas
Paaiškinimas atnaujintas

Ką reguliuoja šis teisės aktas?

  • The election of municipal councillors for a four-year term using a proportional electoral system.
  • The rights and restrictions for individuals to vote and be elected as municipal councillors.
  • The process for announcing election dates and the openness of election preparation and conduct.
  • The formation of multi-member constituencies and polling districts within municipalities.

Kam taikomas šis teisės aktas?

  • Permanent residents of a municipality who are 18 years of age or older on election day.
  • Permanent residents of a municipality who are at least 20 years of age on election day and wish to be elected as a municipal councillor.

Kokie yra pagrindiniai punktai?

  • Municipal councillors are elected for a four-year term.
  • Voters must be permanent residents of the municipality and at least 18 years old on election day, while candidates must be permanent residents and at least 20 years old.
  • Persons declared legally incapable by a court cannot participate in elections or be elected.
  • Elections are announced by the Seimas no later than five months before the expiration of councillors' powers and are held no earlier than two months and no later than one month prior to this expiration.

Konstitucinė teisė ir žmogaus teisės

8
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Konstitucinė teisė ir žmogaus teisės

Įstatymo tekstas

Įstatymo tekstas
Turinys (90)
  1. Article 1 The Fundamentals of Elections of Members of Municipal Councils
  2. Article 2 Universal Suffrage
  3. Article 3 Equal Suffrage
  4. Article 4 Direct Elections
  5. Article 5 Secret Ballot
  6. Article 6 Prohibition to Bribe Voters and Persons Eligible to Vote
  7. Article 7 Announcement of Election Date
  8. Article 8 Openness of Preparation and Holding of Elections
  9. Article 9 Expenditure Related to the Preparation and Conduct of Elections
  10. Article 10 Formation of Constituencies
  11. Article 11 Formation of Polling Districts
  12. Article 12 Electoral Committees
  13. Article 13 Formation of Constituency Electoral Committees
  14. Article 14 The Powers of Constituency Electoral Committees
  15. Article 15 Formation of Polling District Electoral Committees
  16. Article 16 The Powers of the Polling District Electoral Committee
  17. Article 17 Written Pledge of Electoral Committee Members
  18. Article 18 Organisation of the Work of Electoral Committees
  19. Article 19 Appeals Concerning Decisions of Electoral Committees Taken prior to th
  20. Article 20 Support for Electoral Committees
  21. Article 21 Payment for Work of Electoral Committee Members
  22. Article 22 Changing the Composition of an Electoral Committee
  23. Article 23 Electoral rolls
  24. Article 24 General Procedure for Entering Voters of the Republic of Lithuania on
  25. Article 25 Electoral Rolls of Constituencies
  26. Article 26 Electoral Rolls of Polling Districts
  27. Article 27 Public Announcement of Electoral rolls and Access to Electoral Rolls
  28. Article 28 Voter Certificate
  29. Article 29 Delivery of Voter Certificates
  30. Article 30 Checking the Accuracy of Electoral Rolls before Drawing up Final Elect
  31. Article 31
  32. Article 32 Checking the Accuracy of Electoral Rolls upon Compiling Final Electora
  33. Article 33 Complaints Concerning Electoral Rolls
  34. Article 34 Nomination of Candidates for Councillor
  35. Article 35 Application Documents for the Nomination of Candidates for Councillor
  36. Article 36 Registration of Candidates for Councillor
  37. Article 37 A Representative for the Elections
  38. Article 38 Electoral Deposit
  39. Article 39 Prohibition for One Person to be a Candidate in Several Constituencies
  40. Article 40 Joining of the Lists of Candidates
  41. Article 41 The Right to Withdraw or Supplement Electoral Application Documents
  42. Article 42 Announcement of the Names of Candidates for Councillor and the Lists o
  43. Article 43 The Right of a Candidate for Councillor to Speak at Meetings, to Use t
  44. Article 44 Liability for the Violation of this Law
  45. Article 45 The Right of Candidates for Councillor to be Relieved from Work or the
  46. Article 46 The Immunity of a Candidate for Councillor
  47. Article 47 Basic Principles of Election Campaign
  48. Article 48 Conditions and Procedure of Election Campaign
  49. Article 49 Publicising of Material Compromising a Candidate for Councillor and a
  50. Article 50 Releasing the Material Compromising a Party which has Nominated a List
  51. Article 51 Prohibition to Conduct Election Campaigning while Abusing one’s Offici
  52. Article 52 Funding of Political Campaigning of Elections to Municipal Councils
  53. Article 53 Prohibition of Campaigning on election day
  54. Article 54 Establishment of Election Document Samples
  55. Article 55 Ballot Papers
  56. Article 56 Delivery of Ballot Papers
  57. Article 57 Preparation of Polling Stations
  58. Article 58 Election Observers
  59. Article 59 Time and Place of Voting
  60. Article 60 Prohibition to Carry out other Activities in the Polling Station
  61. Article 61 Commencement of Voting
  62. Article 62 Voter Identification
  63. Article 63 Voting Procedure
  64. Article 64 Voting by Post
  65. Article 65 Voting at Home and Voting in Advance
  66. Article 66 Voting in Healthcare (except out-patient) Facilities and Institutions
  67. Article 67 Voting in Military Units
  68. Article 68 Polls in Penal Institutions
  69. Article 69 Counting of Voucher Envelopes and Ballot Papers in Post Offices
  70. Article 70 Organisation of Work of a Polling District Electoral Committee When Co
  71. Article 71 Accounting of Ballot Papers in Polling Districts
  72. Article 72 Counting of Votes of the Voters who Have Voted in the Polling Station
  73. Article 73
  74. Article 74 Vote Counting Record of the Polling District
  75. Article 75 Invalid Ballot Papers
  76. Article 76 Presentation of Documents of the Polling District to the Constituency
  77. Article 77 Counting of Votes in the Constituency Electoral Committee
  78. Article 78 Presentation of Vote Count Documents of the Constituency to the Centra
  79. Article 79 Participation of Observers in the Counting of Votes and Establishment
  80. Article 80 Publication of the Preliminary Election Results
  81. Article 81 Complaints against the Decisions of Electoral Committees which Have Be
  82. Article 82 Vote Counting Record of the Constituency Electoral Committee
  83. Article 83 Establishment of Election Results in Multi-Member Candidate Constituen
  84. Article 84 Establishment and Proclamation of the Final Election Results
  85. Article 85 Declaration of the Election Invalid
  86. Article 86 Rerun Elections
  87. Article 87 Discontinuation of the Powers of a Municipal Councillor Prior to the E
  88. Article 88 Filling a Vacant Seat in the Council
  89. Article 89
  90. Article 90 Post Incompatible with the Post of Municipal Councillor, and the Loss

official translation REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA LAW ON ELECTIONS TO MUNICIPAL COUNCILS 7 July 1994, No I-532 (As last amended on 25 May 2010 ─ No XI-848) FIRST CHAPTER GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1The Fundamentals of Elections of Members of Municipal Councils

1.Members of municipal councils of the Republic of Lithuania (hereafter referred to as “municipal councillors”, “councillors”) shall be elected for a four-year term in multi-member constituencies by universal and equal suffrage, in a secret ballot at direct elections according to a proportional electoral system.
2.This Law has been harmonised with the legal acts of the European Union, referred to in the Annex to the Law.

Article 2Universal Suffrage

1.The right to elect municipal councillors shall be enjoyed by permanent residents (voters) of that municipality, who are 18 years of age on election day. Persons who have been declared legally incapable by the court shall not participate in elections.
2.Any permanent resident of a municipality who is at least 20 years of age on election day may be elected as member of the council of that municipality.
3.A permanent resident of a municipality shall be a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania who has declared his place of residence pursuant to legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania in the territory of this municipality or whose last known address of place of residence is within the territory of this municipality, or who has indicated by a public declaration his place of residence within the territory of this municipality and such a place of residence is, in a prescribed manner, regarded as his principal place of residence, as well as a person who has a permanent residence permit in the Republic of Lithuania. A person, who declared his place of residence in pursuance of legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania within the territory of a municipality not later than the day of submission of application documents with a constituency electoral committee, may be elected as member of the council of this municipality.
4.Persons who, with 65 days remaining before elections, have not completed a court-imposed sentence, as well as persons who have been declared legally incapable or insane by the court may not be elected as councillors. A citizen of a foreign state whose passive voting right is restricted by the court in the state whose citizen he is, may not be elected as a municipal councillor.
5.Persons who on election day are in the active or alternative national defence service, as well as servicemen of professional military service or officers of statutory institutions and establishments, who, with 65 days remaining before elections, have not quitted the army or retired and whose participation in political activities are restricted in accordance with special laws or statutes, may not be elected as municipal councillors.
6.Other direct or indirect abridgements of the right to vote of permanent residents of that municipality on the grounds of their descent, political convictions, social and property status, nationality, sex, education, language, religion, type and character of their occupation shall be prohibited.

Article 3Equal Suffrage

Every permanent resident of a municipality who has the right to elect a council shall, in a multi-member constituency within the territory whereof he resides, has one vote to cast for a list of candidates to councillors - a vote for a list (according to the sums of the votes cast for each list in a constituency it shall be established which list receives (or does not receive) what number of mandates of municipal councillors) and five additional votes to be cast for the preference of five candidates from the list for which he has voted - preference votes (according to the sums of these votes in a constituency a place of each candidate on the list after elections shall be determined). Votes for a list and preference votes shall have the same value as the votes of any other citizen who has the right to vote in the same constituency.

Article 4Direct Elections

There shall be no voting by proxy in elections of municipal councillors.

Article 5Secret Ballot

1.Voters shall vote in person and by secret ballot. It shall be prohibited to vote for another person or to vote by proxy. A voter, who is unable to vote because of his physical disability, may vote with the assistance of another person whom he trusts, as it is provided for in Paragraph 8 of Article 64 of this Law. If someone gets to know the secret of another person’s voting, it shall be prohibited to divulge it.
2.It shall be prohibited to control the will of voters in elections. It shall be prohibited to influence the will of a voter to vote for or against any candidate or a list of candidates. A voter must be provided with the conditions to mark a ballot in secret and without interference. It shall be prohibited to act with a ballot in such a way that the secret of voting might be revealed.

Article 6Prohibition to Bribe Voters and Persons Eligible to Vote

1.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 as a candidate, a candidate or a list of candidates, as well as to promise to reward after the elections the voters for voting with the purpose to affect the will of voters regarding particular political parties or candidates or persons to be nominated as candidates, and thus hinder citizens from implementing their right to vote.
2.Distribution free of charge of printed matter (a programme, biography of a political party or a candidate or a person to be nominated as a candidate, 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 as a candidate shall not be considered as bribery of voters.
3.Electoral committees shall, in the manner prescribed by the Central Electoral Commission, examine and take a decision on 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 comply with 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 gross violation of this Law, the consequences defined in this Law and other laws shall arise.

Article 7Announcement of Election Date

1.Members of all councils shall be elected at the same time.
2.Elections to councils shall be announced by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania no later than five months prior to the expiration of the powers of the councillors. If, with four months remaining before the expiration of the powers of the councillors, the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania does not announce the date of elections to municipal councils, municipal council elections shall be held on the last Sunday from which at least a month remains before the expiration of the powers of the councillors. Elections to councils shall be held no earlier than two months and no later than one month prior to the expiration of the powers of the councillors.
3.If municipal council elections must be held in time of war, a decision concerning holding of such elections shall be adopted according to special laws or other legal acts.
4.The day when ballots are cast in polling stations of polling districts shall be considered the day of election to municipal councils. Voting held not at polling stations (by post or in other ways covered in this Law) shall be carried out before polling day or finished on election day as it is provided for in this Law. The term, which is calculated from election day and may be implemented only when election results are proclaimed shall be started to be calculated from the day of proclamation of the election results.
5.The date of rerun elections in a constituency shall be announced by the Central Electoral Commission in cases provided for in this Law no later than within 15 days from the day when the necessity to hold such elections occurred, unless otherwise provided for in this Law. It shall also announce the election date in the case specified in paragraph 2 of this Article.

Article 8Openness 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 office, 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 referred to as "parties") and political organisations upon presenting certificates of the established form or credentials verified with the seal of the parties which have authorised them; representatives of the mass media, upon presenting their authority or service cards. A candidate for municipal councillor 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 of the electoral committee 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 that require walking about the room 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 safekeeping 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 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 9Expenditure Related to the Preparation and Conduct of Elections

Expenditure related to the preparation and holding of elections to municipal councils 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 premises of polling stations and 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 municipality 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 related to the polling station and its supplies shall be recovered without suit by the Central Electoral Commission from the municipality.

SECOND CHAPTER CONSTITUENCIES AND POLLING DISTRICTS

Article 10Formation of Constituencies

1.For the organisation and execution of elections on the territory of a municipality one multi-member constituency shall be formed where all voters of such municipality who have the active right to vote shall cast their votes.
2.According to the proportional system of elections, in a constituency:
1)more than 500 000 residents shall elect 51 councillors;
2)from 300 000 to 500 000 residents shall elect 41 councillors;
3)from 100 000 to 300 000 residents shall elect 31 councillors;
4)from 50 000 to 100 000 residents shall elect 27 councillors;
5)from 20 000 to 50 000 residents shall elect 25 councillors; and
6)up to 20 000 residents shall elect 21 councillors.
3.The Central Electoral Commission shall, at least 85 days prior to the elections, announce constituencies and the number of councillors to be elected.

Article 11Formation of Polling Districts

1.With a view of making it more convenient for voters to reach a polling station and with account of the number of voters, the territories of municipalities shall be divided into polling districts.
2.The division of the territory of a municipality, which shall be permanent when organising and conducting various elections and referenda, into polling districts shall, on recommendation of the director of municipal administration, be approved and changed, where necessary, by the Central Electoral Commission. 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 a polling station shall be changed when necessary, but no later than 100 days prior to the election. In his recommendation to approve the division of the territory of a municipality into polling districts, the director of municipal administration shall specify the proposed name of a polling district, the addresses comprising to the polling district, the number of voters in the district, the address and telephone number of a polling station. The recommendation on changes in the division of the territory of a municipality into polling districts shall specify the changes it proposes. 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 have polling at the polling stations established earlier, the Central Electoral Commission may, on the recommendation of the constituency electoral committee, change the address of a polling station within a shorter time limit than the one specified in this Article.

Third CHAPTER ORGANISATION of Elections TO MUNICIPAL COUNCILS

Article 12Electoral Committees

1.Elections to municipal councils shall be organised and conducted by:
1)the Central Electoral Commission;
2)constituency electoral committees; and
3)polling district electoral committees.
2.A citizen of the Republic of Lithuania may be proposed to an electoral committee provided he has the right to be elected as Seimas member (without taking into consideration the minimum age limit set for a candidate for Seimas member, but who is not younger than 18 years of age on election day) and has not been removed from an electoral committee or referendum commission during the last three elections to the Seimas, office of the President of the Republic, municipal councils, or the referendum for the violations of laws on elections or the Law on the Referendum.
3.The same person cannot concurrently be a member of the electoral committee and a candidate for councillor; a candidate for councillor and a representative of a party for elections (hereinafter referred to as “representative for the elections”); a representative for the elections and a member of the electoral committee; a candidate for councillor and an observer of the elections; a member of the electoral committee and an observer of the elections. Provided that a member of the electoral committee is willing to be a candidate for election as councillor, he must, no later than 10 days prior to giving consent to become a candidate, resign in writing from the post of a member of the electoral committee. If the member of the electoral committee has not done so, he shall be relieved from the electoral committee for the violation of this Law and shall be not registered as a candidate for councillor or shall be removed from the list of candidates.

Article 13Formation of Constituency Electoral Committees

1.The Central Electoral Commission shall for the period of elections form constituency electoral committees no later than 74 days prior to the elections.
2.Constituency electoral committees shall be composed of:
1)one person who resides or works in the territory of that municipality, has higher legal education, and who is nominated by the Minister of Justice;
2)one person who resides or works in the territory of that municipality has higher legal education, and who is nominated by the Lithuanian Lawyers’ Association;
3)one career civil servant who works in the administration of that municipality and who is nominated by the director of that municipality;
4)persons nominated by the parties, their coalitions which have received the mandates of Seimas member in the multi-member constituency; and
5)persons nominated by the parties, their coalitions which, during the last elections to municipal council, have received not less than 3 mandates of the members of this council.
3.The Minister of Justice, the Lithuanian Lawyers’ Association and the director of a municipality may propose more candidates.
4.Parties, their coalitions which have received the mandates of Seimas member in the multi-candidate constituency shall each have the right to propose two representatives (hereinafter referred to as “candidate”) for one such list of candidates (joint list) nominated in the multi-member constituency to constituency electoral committees. The parties, their coalitions which, during the last elections to the council, have received mandates of the members of the council of this municipality according to the list (joint list) of nominated candidates, shall each have the right to propose one candidate to constituency electoral committees for one such list of candidates (joint list) nominated in the constituency.

If the party may propose candidates according to the results of elections to the Seimas and elections to the council as well, then it shall propose candidates according to the results of only one of these elections for choice. If one of the parties, which participated in the election coalition, does not propose candidates or refuses to propose them, or chooses to propose them according to the results of the elections other than those for which the coalition was formed, the other organisations, which have participated in this coalition, shall have the right to propose candidates in its absence. Parties, their coalitions shall submit a list of candidates to the Central Electoral Commission not later than 81 days prior to elections.

If candidates for membership meet the requirements of this Law, the Central Electoral Commission may not reject said candidates. In the event that candidates for membership have not been proposed, the Central Electoral Commission may additionally appoint as members of the committee the persons who are proposed by the Minister of Justice, the Lithuanian Lawyers’ Association or the director of municipal administration.

5.In all cases, not less than three committee members must be the persons appointed to a constituency electoral committee from the candidates proposed by the Minister of Justice, the Lithuanian Lawyers’ Association and the director of municipal administration. If these people make up less than three members of the committee, the committee shall be enlarged from the persons proposed by the Minister of Justice, the Lithuanian Lawyers’ Association or the director of municipal administration.
6.If elections to the European Parliament or the Seimas, or the office of President of the Republic, or the municipal council, or a referendum are concurrently held on the same day, the same electoral committees of polling districts or referendum commissions shall be formed. The Central Electoral Commission shall form a single – municipal, constituency or referendum - committee on a separate electoral, referendum territory and shall define its functions in organising and carrying out other elections or a referendum.
7.The Central Electoral Commission shall appoint chairman of the constituency electoral committee from the committee members.
8.During its first sitting the constituency electoral committee shall elect a deputy chairman and a secretary of the committee.

Article 14The Powers of Constituency Electoral Committees

The constituency electoral committee shall:

1)in the manner prescribed by the Central Electoral Commission, inform the voters who reside in the constituency about the boundaries of polling districts, their offices, working hours and polling stations;
2)supervise the implementation of this Law in the constituency;
3)form polling district electoral committees;
4)distribute the funds allocated for the elections among polling district electoral committees, control the utilisation of these funds and report to the Central Electoral Commission on the funds used for the elections;
5)register election observers and issue certificates to them, observe political campaigning in the constituency territory and submit information related to such observation to the Central Electoral Commission in the manner prescribed by it;
6)accept application documents of nomination of candidates of parties, examine them, register the lists of candidates for election as councillors, candidates for councillor, issue registered candidates with certificates, register coalitions which are being formed or recalled, establish numbers of the lists of candidates of the coalitions;
7)make up a list of health care (except out-patient), social care and guardianship institutions, military units, arrest houses, remand prisons (detention facilities) and penal institutions situated in the territory of a constituency, and together with the head of the post office have care of the organisation of voting by post in those places, as well as organise voting in advance;
8)draw up a vote counting record of the constituency, establish election results and direct them the Central Electoral Commission for approval; following the decision of the Central Electoral Commission, publish the list of the elected councillors in the press;
9)consider complaints against decisions and actions of the polling district electoral committees and take appropriate decisions; revoke decisions which are not in compliance with the requirements of laws and other legal acts; and
10)exercise other powers provided for in this Law.

Article 15Formation of Polling District Electoral Committees

1.Not later than 65 days prior to the elections, the constituency electoral committee shall establish the number of the members of each polling district electoral committee, which must be a multiple of the number of the parties, which have the right to propose candidatures. If the number of proposed candidatures is insufficient or there is a vacancy in the committee, the director of the administration of the municipality in the territory of which the polling district is formed may propose the lacking candidatures.
2.The following shall have the right to propose an equal number of candidates to a polling district electoral committee:
1)each party or coalition of the parties which received the mandates of Seimas member in a multi-member constituency during the last elections to the Seimas. If the party received mandates of Seimas member while being in the coalition, it may propose candidates together with the parties which participated in the coalition;
2)the party or coalition of the parties which in the last elections to a municipal council received at least 2 mandates of members of this council. If the party received mandates of councillors while being in the coalition, it may propose candidates together with the parties which participated in the collation.
3.If the party may propose candidates according to the results of the elections to the Seimas and to a municipal council as well, then it shall propose candidates according to the results of only one of these elections for choice. If one of the parties which have participated in the election coalition, does not propose candidates or refuses to propose them, or chooses to propose candidates according to the results of the elections other than those for which the coalition was formed, other parties which have participated in this coalition shall have the right to propose candidates in its absence.
4.Parties shall submit their lists of candidates to the constituency electoral committee no later than 48 days prior to the elections.
5.Constituency electoral committees shall for the period of elections form polling district electoral committees not later than 45 days prior to the elections. If a candidate, proposed by the party, meets the requirements set forth in this Law, the constituency electoral committees may not reject the candidate.
6.If no candidates have been proposed or the proposed candidates do not meet the requirements of this Law, or they have been proposed after the set period of time, a constituency electoral committee may decrease the earlier established number of the members of the polling district electoral committee or address the director of municipal administration to propose the lacking number of candidates for polling district electoral committees. The candidates proposed by the director of municipal administration may not be members of parties or to become such prior to the expiration of the powers of a member of an electoral committee. If during a sitting not less than three members of the constituency electoral committee, while appointing a member of the polling district electoral committee, object to the appointment of the candidate proposed by the director of municipal administration, to be a member of the polling district electoral committee, this candidate may not be appoint a member of the committee.
7.Constituency electoral committees shall appoint chairmen of polling district electoral committees from the members of the committees.
8.During its first sitting the polling district electoral committee shall elect deputy chairman and secretary of the committee.

Article 16The Powers of the Polling District Electoral Committee

The polling district electoral committee shall:

1)receive electoral rolls from the constituency electoral committee, provide conditions for voters, representatives for the elections to familiarise themselves with said lists, hand voter certificates to voters or distribute them in some other manner, inform the constituency electoral committee about inaccuracies noticed in the electoral roll of the polling district;
2)consider complaints concerning errors made in the electoral roll of a polling district;
3)in the manner prescribed by the Central Electoral Commission, supervise the course of voting by post on the territory of a polling district, and monitor the provision of opportunities for voting by post in all health care (except out-patient), social care and guardianship institutions, military units, arrest houses, remand prisons (detention facilities) and penal institutions situated in the territory of a polling district, as well as organise voting at home;
4)together with a representative of the municipal administration, have care of preparing polling stations, voting booths and ballot boxes in due time pursuant to the requirements provided in this Law;
5)organise voting in the polling district on election day;
6)count votes and draw up the vote counting records of the polling district;
7)consider complaints of the voters and observers of its polling district on issues concerning the preparation of elections, organising of voting, vote count, drawing-up of vote counting records, and shall take decisions related thereto; and
8)exercise other powers provided for in this Law.

Article 17Written Pledge of Electoral Committee Members

1.A member, chairman of an electoral committee shall start holding the position in the electoral committee upon having given a written pledge.
2.The Central Electoral Commission shall lay down the procedure for giving a written pledge by members and chairmen of electoral committees of constituencies and polling districts. The texts of a written pledge of a member, the chairman of an electoral committee shall read as follows:
1)“I, (name, surname) swear to be faithful to the Republic of Lithuania, observe its Constitution and laws, conscientiously and honestly perform my duties in the electoral committee and refrain from actions violating laws and human rights.

So help me God.”;

2)“I, (name, surname) swear to be faithful to the Republic of Lithuania, observe its Constitution and laws, conscientiously and honestly perform my duties in the electoral committee and refrain from actions violating laws and human rights."
3.Upon giving a written pledge, a person shall sign at the foot of the pledge. The text of a written pledge may not be altered. The pledge shall be effective for the whole duration of the appointment to work in the electoral committee.
4.Written pledges of the members, chairmen of the electoral committees shall remain in the custody of the electoral committee that has administered them.
5.When appointing an electoral committee member, the Central Electoral Commission or a constituency electoral committee shall fix the date by which he must give a written pledge. The person who has not given a written pledge within 15 days after his appointment shall be removed from his position in the electoral committee.

Article 18Organisation of the Work of Electoral Committees

1.Sittings of electoral committees shall be valid provided that at least three-fifths of the committee members are in attendance. Decisions taken by the committees shall be adopted by open vote of the majority of the committee members participating in the sitting. In the event of a tie, the committee chairman shall have a casting vote. Committee members who do not agree with a decision shall have the right to state a separate opinion in writing, which shall then be appended to the minutes of the sitting and shall be an inseparable part thereof.
2.Upon the end of elections, the powers of the chairmen, members of electoral committees of polling districts, constituencies shall be terminated. The decision to terminate the powers shall be taken by the electoral committee which appointed the committee members, when this committee, its chairman have fulfilled all the tasks assigned to him according to this Law.
3.The chairman or member of an electoral committee who has given a written pledge shall be prohibited from any form of election campaigning or attempts to influence the voters' will in any other way. Individuals who have violated this requirement, a written pledge of a committee member must be dismissed from the committee and may be held liable under law.

Article 19Appeals Concerning Decisions of Electoral Committees Taken prior to the Completion of Voting

1.Parties that have nominated a candidate for councillor, a candidate for councillor, representative for the elections, election observer may appeal against the decision of the electoral committee taken prior to the completion of voting, or any other activity thereof:
1)that of the polling district electoral committee - to the constituency electoral committee;
2)that of the constituency electoral committee - to the Central Electoral Commission; and
3)that of the Central Electoral Commission - to the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania.
2.A voter, representative for the elections who does not agree with the decision of the polling district electoral committee which has been adopted on his appeal concerning the errors made in the electoral roll because of which the voter may not implement his right of voting (he has been incorrectly put on or struck off the electoral roll or if the data about the voter has been inaccurately entered into the electoral roll), may appeal against the decision of the polling district electoral committee to the administrative court of an appropriate county.
3.The appeal, filed with the administrative court of a county, must be investigated within 48 hours from the filing thereof. Non-working days shall be included in this time limit. The decision of the court shall become effective after its pronouncement. The appeals which have been filed not in compliance with the procedure established in this Article shall not be investigated and shall be transferred to that electoral committee which must investigate them. A polling district electoral committee, a constituency electoral committee may not transfer to the Central Electoral Commission for consideration the appeals which are within their own jurisdiction and which have not been investigated by them.

Article 20Support for Electoral Committees

1.State and municipal institutions, enterprises, establishments and organisations, as well as their officers must assist electoral committees in exercising their powers and must furnish them with necessary information.
2.State and municipal institutions, enterprises, establishments and institutions, as well as their officers must consider requests submitted by electoral committees and give them justified replies within 3 days.
3.Electoral committees may employ the required number of personnel for assistance work.
4.Local authorities, state establishments and other organisations must provide electoral committees with proper premises and equipment for the preparation and execution of elections.

Article 21Payment for Work of Electoral Committee Members

For their work in electoral committees, the chairmen, deputy chairmen, secretaries and members of electoral committees shall be receive payment at the rates submitted by the Central Electoral Commission and approved by the Government.

Article 22Changing the Composition of an Electoral Committee

1.The chairman or member of an electoral committee may be removed from his position in the committee by the electoral committee, which approved the composition of said committee, or the Central Electoral Commission.
2.The electoral committee may consider only the justified proposal of a party to recall the member of the electoral committee whom it has proposed.
3.When necessary, a new chairman or member of the electoral committee may be appointed according to the procedure established by this Law even upon expiration of the time limits set in paragraph 1 of Article 13 and paragraph 5 of Article 15.

FOURTH CHAPTER Electoral rolls and VOTER CERTIFICATES

Article 23Electoral rolls

1.For organising and holding elections the following electoral rolls shall be compiled:
1)the electoral roll of the Republic of Lithuania;
2)electoral rolls of constituencies; and
3)electoral rolls of polling districts.
2.Electoral rolls shall be drawn up twice - provisional and final. These rolls may be used only for organisation and execution of elections.
3.The procedure for compiling electoral rolls must be such that every person who is entitled to vote shall be entered on an electoral roll. No one may be entered on an electoral roll more than once.
4.At the request of the parties that have nominated candidates and for the purpose of campaigning general electoral rolls of a concrete constituency may be drawn up and presented. The parties that are registered in the State Register of Personal Data Controllers may obtain general electoral rolls (in electronic storage media or printed). The following data shall be laid down in general electoral rolls: voter's name, surname, address and date of birth. Actual expenses related to drawing-up of such lists shall be covered by the party, which has ordered them. If a voter has, in manner prescribed by legal acts, expressed his disagreement that his address or date of birth would be made public in general electoral rolls, only his name and surname shall be indicated in these rolls. Parties may not submit general electoral rolls to the third persons and use them for the purposes other than campaigning. They must destroy the obtained data within 30 days following the proclamation of the final election results.
5.The electoral roll of the Republic of Lithuania and the electoral rolls of constituencies, which are drawn up and kept by the keeper of the population register, shall be made in electronic storage media. Electoral rolls of polling districts shall be printed. The procedure, form of compiling of rolls, method of compiling and the procedure of their use shall be laid down by the Central Electoral Commission. When drawing up electoral rolls, the following information shall be used:
1)in the electoral roll of the Republic of Lithuania: name, surname, personal number, date of birth, number of the document confirming citizenship, address of a place of residence and grounds for entering the address in the population register;
2)in the electoral roll of constituencies: name, surname, personal number, date of birth, address of a place of residence and grounds for entering the address in the population register;
3)in the electoral roll of polling districts: name, surname and the address of a place of residence. The address of the voters, who have expressed disagreement that their address would be announced in the electoral roll of a polling district, shall be indicated only in the annex to the electoral roll of the polling district and in the voter certificate.
6.Every voter shall enjoy the right to disagree that the address of his place of residence would be publicly announced in the electoral roll of a polling district, and that both the address of his place of residence and his date of birth or either of them would be indicated in the general electoral rolls which are furnished to the parties. The Central Electoral Commission shall together with the keeper of the population register create conditions for a voter to exercise his right to disagree that the address of his place of residence would be indicated in the polling list of a polling district and that the address of his place of residence and his date of birth would be indicated in the general electoral rolls.

Article 24General Procedure for Entering Voters of the Republic of Lithuania on Electoral Rolls

1.All persons entitled to vote shall be entered on the electoral roll of the Republic of Lithuania according to the data of issuance of the passport, identity card or a permit for permanent residence in the Republic of Lithuania, and in accordance with the population register of the Republic of Lithuania. State and municipal institutions and establishments which issue documents confirming the identity of a person, keep the data pertaining to the declaration of persons' place of residence, register the deaths of persons and the loss of citizenship, shall be also responsible for accurate and timely recording of relevant changes and corrections in the population register of the Republic of Lithuania. Rolls compiled according to the data of the population register of the Republic of Lithuania shall be provisional.
2.Compiling, correcting and execution of electoral rolls shall be organised by the Central Electoral Commission on the basis of the information furnished by state, municipal institutions and constituency electoral committees.
3.The following persons shall be struck off the electoral roll of the Republic of Lithuania:
1)a diseased voter;
2)a person who has lost the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania and who does not have a permit for permanent residence in the Republic of Lithuania;
3)a citizen who has been declared legally incompetent by the court.
4)a person whose permit for permanent residence in the Republic of Lithuania has been revoked in the manner prescribed by law.
4.Provisional electoral rolls with changes done therein and acknowledged in the procedure established by the Central Electoral Commission shall be approved as final electoral rolls not more than 7 days prior to elections. Changes in final electoral rolls may be done only with the consent of the Central Electoral Commission.

Article 25Electoral Rolls of Constituencies

The electoral roll of a constituency shall be drawn up in electronic storage media 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 last known or declared place of residence of the voter), and shall be delivered to the constituency electoral committee at least 39 days prior to elections. Concurrently, lists of voters whose place of residence is unknown shall be drawn up.

Article 26Electoral 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 a constituency and the place of residence indicated therein, and shall be delivered to the polling district electoral committee at least 26 days prior to the election. An electoral roll of voters whose place of residence is unknown shall also be compiled.

Article 27Public Announcement of Electoral rolls and Access to Electoral Rolls

1.The polling district electoral committee shall, at least 25 days prior to elections, provide conditions for the voters to have access to the electoral roll of a polling district. Voters shall be provided with data of an annex to the polling district electoral roll that concern only them. It shall be prohibited to make copies of electoral rolls of a polling district or to copy or distribute such lists in any other manner. A notice must be posted at the entrance to the premises of an electoral committee, indicating duty hours of the committee members, and telephone numbers through which the voters may check whether they have been entered on the electoral roll. Upon the expiration of the time limit specified in this Law for issuing voter certificates, notices indicating the duty hours of the polling district electoral committee and its contact telephone numbers must also be posted in the stairways of multi-family apartment buildings.
2.The electoral roll of the Republic of Lithuania and electoral rolls of constituencies shall not be announced publicly, however, a voter may be provided with information regarding his entry on the electoral roll by telephone as well.

Article 28Voter 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 voter is entered. 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 his physical disability 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).
2.A voter certificate shall contain:
1)voter’s name and surname;
2)voter’s birth date (year, month, day);
3)voter’s address;
4)the name and number of a polling district on the electoral poll of which a voter has been entered, and the address of a polling station;
5)the successive number of a voter on the electoral roll of a polling district; and
6)the election date, polling time at a polling station of the polling district; it shall also advise that this certificate is required for voting, and may include other information significant to the voter of for organisation of 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 on the certificate.

Article 29Delivery of Voter Certificates

1.The delivery of voter certificates to voters shall be organised by a polling district electoral committee.
2.Articles 66, 67 and 68 of this Law shall lay down the procedure for delivering voter certificates to voters who are in health care (except out-patient), social care and guardianship institutions, military units, arrest houses, remand prisons (detention facilities) and penal institutions situated.
3.The delivery of voter certificates shall be noted in a provisional 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 the voter’s neighbour who knows the voter and undertakes to deliver the voter certificate to the voter. The delivery of voter certificates to voters must be finished at least 20 days before elections.
4.The voter who has not received a voter certificate in due time or who has received a voter certificate with inaccuracies, must without delay inform the polling district electoral committee on whose service territory he resides about this and to produce his passport or any other document confirming his identity. If the voter has been entered on the electoral roll of this polling district, the polling district electoral committee must write out a new voter certificate to the voter and issue it to him immediately. If the voter has not been entered on the electoral roll of this polling district, but the address of the place of voter’s residence according to the population register data is assigned to this territory of the polling district or the voter produces evidences that he resides within the territory of this polling district, the polling district electoral committee shall provide a request blank, the form whereof is prescribed by the Central Electoral Commission, to be filled out by the voter to enter him on the electoral roll of this polling district (or a member of the polling district electoral committee shall fill out this request himself), and shall immediately inform the constituency electoral committee about this, which must have care of entering the voter on the electoral roll of this polling district. The voter certificate shall be written out and delivered to the voter upon checking the accuracy of electoral rolls.
5.A constituency electoral committee may, in the manner prescribed by the Central Electoral Commission, write out a voter certificate for the voter who is on the electoral roll of another constituency, if he is unable to return to his permanent place of residence to pick or otherwise get the voter certificate. The voter must request this in writing.

Article 30Checking the Accuracy of Electoral Rolls before Drawing up Final Electoral Rolls

1.The accuracy of provisional electoral rolls shall be checked when transferring a voter from one electoral roll of a polling district, constituency into another, striking from or entering a voter on the electoral roll of the Republic of Lithuania.
2.The voter shall be transferred from one electoral roll into another if it becomes clear that the address of his place of residence in the provisional roll is incorrect or it has changed after said roll was drawn up.
3.Transferring of the voter from the electoral roll of one polling district into another within the same constituency shall be executed by the constituency electoral committee which shall inform the Central Electoral Commission about the changes made in electoral rolls of polling districts. Transferring of the voter from the electoral roll of one constituency into another shall be executed by the Central Electoral Commission on the recommendation of the constituency electoral committee and shall inform the constituency electoral committees about the changes made. Only the Central Electoral Commission may enter a voter on or strike him from the electoral roll of the Republic of Lithuania in the cases provided in Article 24 of this Law.

Article 31Entering of Voters who are in Military Units, Arrest Houses, Remand Prisons (Detention Facilities) and Penal Institutions

1.Voters performing the mandatory military shall be entered on the electoral rolls of the polling district on the territory of which they had permanently resided before they were summoned for the mandatory military service.
2.Voters performing the active military service, civil service or working under employment contract in international military operations abroad shall be entered on the electoral rolls of the polling district on the territory of which they declared their place of residence.
3.Voters who are in arrest houses, remand prisons (detention facilities) or penal institutions shall be entered on the electoral roll of the polling district on the territory of which they declared their place of residence. If such a person has not declared his place of residence or requests in writing, he shall be registered in the electoral roll of the polling district on the territory of which an arrest house, remand prison (detention facilities) or penal institution is situated. A person who had declared his place of residence before he was placed in an arrest house, remand prison (detention facilities) or penal institution may not be entered on the electoral roll of the polling district within the territory of which the arrest house, remand prison (detention facilities) or penal institution is situated.

Article 32Checking the Accuracy of Electoral Rolls upon Compiling Final Electoral Rolls, as well as on Election Day

If following the approval of the final electoral rolls, but no later than until 6 p.m. on election day, a voter addresses the polling district electoral committee and submits the passport, identity card or a permit for permanent residence in the Republic of Lithuania and the document about the declared place of residence (the place of residence must be assigned to the territory of this polling district), but the voter has not been entered on the electoral roll of this electoral district, the polling district electoral committee shall enter the voter on the additional electoral roll of the polling district and shall allow him to vote according to the procedure established by the Central Electoral Commission, and shall immediately inform the constituency electoral committee about the voter’s surname, name, personal number, the number of his passport or any other document confirming his identity, and the address. The constituency electoral committee shall check if the voter has been entered on the electoral roll of the constituency and take actions to guarantee that the voter would not be able to vote twice or the ballot papers filled by him will be counted only once. If the voter has voted twice, only that vote shall be counted which was put in the ballot box of the polling district. The other vote of the voter, received by post or when cast according to the additional electoral roll of the polling district shall not be counted.

Article 33Complaints Concerning Electoral Rolls

1.A voter or a representative for the elections may, no later than 7 days before elections, lodge complaints with the polling district electoral committee concerning 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 polling district electoral committee must consider the complaint and take a decision thereon either immediately or within 2 days of the receipt thereof, if more than 10 days are left until election day.
2.The decision of the polling district electoral committee may be within 3 days appealed against to an appropriate regional administrative court, which shall consider the complaint within 2 days. The decision of the court shall be final.
3.Complaints and comments shall not be considered after the expiration of the term set for filing comments or complaints.
4.Polling district electoral committees 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 constituency electoral committee shall report to the Central Electoral Commission as soon as possible but not later than within 12 hours.

FIFTH CHAPTER NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES FOR COUNCILLOR

Article 34Nomination of Candidates for Councillor

1.A party is registered pursuant to the Law on Political Parties and satisfies the requirements of the Law on Political Parties concerning the number of party members, may nominate candidates for councillor no later than 65 days prior to elections.
2.The party shall nominate candidates for councillor by presenting a list of candidates in which candidates are recorded in such succession as established by the party. The number of candidates on the list may not be less than 10 candidates and not more than twice the number of mandates established in that constituency. Candidates must meet the requirements specified in Article 2 of this Law.

Article 35Application Documents for the Nomination of Candidates for Councillor

1.A party must file with the Central Electoral Commission the following application documents:
1)an application for the participation in elections;
2)a copy of its registration document; it may also submit the party’s programme, election programme;
3)the list of constituencies in elections of members of councils of which the party intends to nominate candidates;
4)the power of attorney for a representative for the elections to represent it in the Central Electoral Commission, as well as the power of attorney to represent it and the candidates nominated by it in constituency electoral committees;
5)the document evidencing the payment of the election deposit;
2.If a party nominated candidates or lists of candidates in the last elections to the Seimas or municipal councils or to the European Parliament, it shall have the right to submit a copy of the appropriate report on the funding of political campaign.
3.The party must file with the constituency electoral committee the following application documents:
1)the list of nominated candidates for councillor in which candidates are placed in a numerical order, signed by a representative for the elections of the party;
2)written consents of the nominated candidates for councillor to be nominated by this party in this constituency, a questionnaire for a candidate for councillor filled in by the candidate himself, as well as the extract containing the basic data from his personal income tax return and assets declaration, presented to the State Tax Inspectorate, approved by that tax inspectorate to which the declaration has 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 data of a declaration of private interests of a candidate for councillor shall submitted by the constituency electoral committee to the Central Electoral Commission not later than within 5 days in accordance with the procedure laid down by the latter; and
3)the certificate, issued by the Central Electoral Commission, concerning the registration of the party, nominating lists of candidates for members of the council of a municipality, for the participation in the elections to the council of this municipality as well as the certificate concerning the registration of this party as an independent participant of political campaign;
4)the certificate, issued by the Central Electoral Commission, concerning the registration of the list of candidates for councillor as an independent participant of political campaign or the certificate indicating that the application to register this list as an independent participant of political campaign has not been submitted.
4.In the questionnaire of a candidate for councillor, a person who is nominated as a candidate for councillor must fill in the following data himself: name, surname, number of the passport or other document confirming identity of the person, personal number, date of birth, address of the permanent place of residence, whether or not his court-imposed sentence has expired, whether or not he is a person who is in the active service or alternative national defence service, whether or not he is a serviceman of the professional military service who is transferred to the reserve or has retired from the service, whether or not he is an officer of a statutory institution or establishment, whose participation in political activities are restricted by special laws or statutes, whether or not he holds office incompatible with the office of councillor, and also whether he is a member of the elective public authority; he must answer the questions indicated in Article 89 of this Law and sign the questionnaire. If a candidate for councillor is a citizen of another state, he must also indicate whether his passive right to vote is not limited in the state whose citizen he is. Other questions, additionally established by the Central Electoral Commission, may also be included in the questionnaire of a candidate for councillor, and the person may not answer them.
5.The filing of application documents shall commence 65 days before and end at 5 p.m., 34 days prior to elections.

Article 36Registration of Candidates for Councillor

1.Upon the commencement of registration of candidates, at the request of the Central Electoral Commission the Ministry of Justice shall within one day confirm officially which parties are registered, the number of members of which parties satisfies the requirements of laws, and the activities of which parties have been suspended or terminated.
2.Upon receiving the application documents of a party, the Central Electoral Commission must not later than the next working day apply to the Ministry of Justice regarding confirmation of the fact of the registration of the party and the validity of the submitted statutes. The Ministry of Justice must give a written reply within two days and submit to the Central Electoral Commission a transcript of effective statutes. Having checked the application documents and determined their compliance with the requirements of this Law, the Central Electoral Commission shall, within 7 days following the receipt of the application documents, issue the representative for the elections of the party nominating lists of candidates, a certificate concerning the registration of the party nominating lists of candidates to participate in the elections.
3.While checking the application documents filled in by a candidate for councillor, the constituency electoral committee shall determine whether the candidate meets the requirements of Article 2 of this Law. When necessary, the Central Electoral Commission may appeal to the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, the Interior, Justice or other state institutions to furnish the data important for registering the candidate. Such appeal of the Central Electoral Commission must be considered in the extra urgency procedure, and a written reply must be given within 7 days, but not later than 32 days before elections.
4.Upon checking out the submitted application documents and establishing their compliance with the requirements of this Law as well as that the party which nominated a candidate for councillor and the list of candidates in which the candidate’s name was entered (provided that the appropriate application of the party was submitted) has been registered as independent participants of political campaign, the electoral committee must take a decision concerning the registration of the candidate for councillor within 10 days following the submission of the application documents, but not less than 31 days prior to elections.
5.If the application documents are incorrect, the electoral committee must immediately inform the appropriate representative for the elections about them.
6.If following the registration of a candidate for councillor, the Central Electoral Commission establishes that this candidate does not meet the requirements laid down in Article 2 of this Law, or if the candidate for councillor refuses to submit the documents or a pledge to comply with the prohibition to bribe voters and persons eligible to vote specified in subparagraph 2 of paragraph 3 of Article 35 of this Law, or he submits the inaccurate documents or pledge, or fails to submit it within the time limit set by the Central Electoral Commission, or if a political party, a candidate for councillor has grossly violated the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 6 of this Law, the Central Electoral Commission shall cancel the registration of such candidate for councillor, revoke the announcement of a list (joint list) of candidates for councillor of that political party.

Article 37A Representative for the Elections

1.A representative for the elections shall represent the party, which has authorised him on all issues in the Central Electoral Commission or a constituency electoral committee. In sittings of the electoral committee he shall have the right of deliberative vote and the right to express a separate opinion on all issues under consideration. The representative for the elections shall, on the territory of the constituency electoral area whereof he is authorised to represent, have all the rights of an election observer. Upon announcing the date of elections to municipal councils, powers of attorney by parties to represent them in electoral committees may be filed with the Central Electoral Commission on the day following the formation of an appropriate electoral committee. If the candidature of a representative for the elections meets the requirements of this Law, the Central Electoral Commission shall within 3 days register the power of attorney given to him and shall issue a representative’s for the elections certificate. The power of attorney for a representative for the elections shall expire after the lapse of 20 days following the proclamation of the final results of elections.
2.Until election day, a party may revoke a power of attorney at any time and to authorise another person to be a representative for the elections. In this case, a representative for the elections must be registered, a certificate must be issued to him, and the registration of the previous representative for the elections must be terminated within 3 days.

Article 38Electoral Deposit

1.The electoral deposit for registering one list of candidates for councillor in a constituency shall be equal to one most recently announced average monthly wage of the national economy (hereinafter referred to as “AMW”).
2.The electoral deposit for changing the place of one candidate on the list, for entering a new candidate on the list - half of the AMW, for joining the candidates’ lists together - 0.3 of the AMW for each joint list.
3.Election deposits for registration of the list of candidates shall be doubled for that party which at the preceding elections to the Seimas or municipal councils nominated candidates or the list (lists) of candidates and did not furnish a copy of the report published in the press concerning the sources and use of the funds for election campaign.
4.Upon the expiration of the period of political campaign, the Central Electoral Commission shall within 40 days refund the electoral deposit to the party or the person who furnished it, provided that the report on the funding of its/his political campaign.
5.Upon the cancellation of the registration of a candidate for councillor, the revocation of the announcement of the party's list (joint list) of candidates for councillor on the grounds referred to in paragraph 6 of Article 36 of this Law or if the list (joint list) of candidates for councillor is not registered because of the failure to submit the application documents within the set time limit, the election deposit shall not be refunded.
6.Non-refundable deposits shall be transferred to the State Budget.

Article 39Prohibition for One Person to be a Candidate in Several Constituencies or on Several Lists of Candidates

1.Each candidate for councillor may be entered on the list of candidates nominated by only one party in a constituency.
2.If a person is entered on the list of candidates nominated by more than one party or is nominated as a candidate in more than one constituency, the Central Electoral Commission shall request him to choose in whose list of candidates he would like to stand for election. If a candidate does not notify in writing about his choice with only 35 days remaining to the election, he shall be struck off all the lists of candidates.

Article 40Joining of the Lists of Candidates

When not less than 35 days remain until elections, several parties may join the lists of candidates nominated by them. In order to do so, they must submit a statement to the constituency electoral committee concerning the joining of lists of candidates for councillor, indicating the name of a coalition. Moreover, the joint list in which the candidates are entered in a newly established succession, as well as the document confirming that the electoral deposit for joining the lists of candidates has been furnished shall be submitted as well. Only those persons can be entered on the joint list who are on the lists which are being joined together. The name of a coalition must include the word “coalition” and it cannot contain any references to the names of the parties which do not form this coalition. The joint list shall be considered to be a single list. The same party may not participate in more than one coalition.

Article 41The Right to Withdraw or Supplement Electoral Application Documents

1.A party or coalition, as well as a person who has been nominated as a candidate for councillor, may at any time, but no later than 25 days before elections, declare their application documents fully or partially withdrawn. A party or coalition shall notify the Central Electoral Commission about this by a statement, a person - by a statement attested in the notarial procedure, and the relevant representatives for the elections in the Central Electoral Commission shall be informed about this. If application documents are withdrawn, the electoral deposit may be refunded only after the election, provided it becomes refundable as provided in Article 38 of this Law. Before the end of the term of submission of application documents set in paragraph 5 of Article 35 of this Law, it shall be allowed to additionally submit new application documents when altering the sequence of candidates on a list of candidates or when nominating new candidates.
2.If the application documents are being withdrawn by the party that has formed a coalition, the candidates nominated by it shall be struck off the joint list of candidates, and, if the name of the coalition contains a reference to its name, the name of the coalition shall be changed. In this event it shall be necessary to notify in writing the representatives for the elections of the coalition partners in the Central Electoral Commission. If upon withdrawal of the electoral application documents, the candidates of only one party remain on the coalition list of candidates, they shall participate in the election only as the candidates of that party.
3.If upon withdrawal of application documents or annulment of the candidates’ registration, less than 10 candidates remain on the list of candidates, the registration of all the candidates of this list shall be annulled.

Article 42Announcement of the Names of Candidates for Councillor and the Lists of Candidates for Councillor

1.With no less than 30 days prior to elections, the Central Electoral Commission shall announce the lists of the parties that participate in the election and the numbers furnished to them by drawing lots.
2.With no less than 30 days prior to elections, the certificates of candidates for councillor shall be delivered by constituency electoral committees to respective representatives for the elections, indicating election numbers of the candidates. The election number of the candidate shall, at the moment of its assignment, coincide with a successive number of the candidate on the list of nominated candidates (joint list). The furnished election number of a candidate may not be changed until the proclamation of election results.
3.With no less than 18 days prior to elections, the constituency electoral committee shall announce lists of candidates (joint lists) nominated by the parties which participate in the election and election numbers of candidates.

SIXTH CHAPTER GUARANTIES OF ACTIVITIES OF CANDIDATES FOR COUNCILLOR

Article 43The Right of a Candidate for Councillor to Speak at Meetings, to Use the Mass Media

1.After the announcement by the Central Electoral Commission of the lists of the parties participating in elections, candidates for councillor shall have the equal right to speak at voters' meetings or any other meetings, gatherings, conferences as well as through the state mass media, and to announce his election program or the election programme of the party which has nominated them as candidate.
2.Heads of state institutions, as well as heads of local authorities must help candidates for councillor to organise meetings with voters, to obtain necessary information, with the exception of the information which is considered confidential according to laws of the Republic of Lithuania and resolutions of the Government.

Article 44Liability for the Violation of this Law

Persons who prevent by force, deception, threat, bribery or otherwise voters from exercising the right to vote or to be elected to councils, and to organise and carry out election campaign, who have violated the procedure of election campaign, announced or otherwise disseminated false information about a candidate for councillor or prevented a candidate for councillor from meeting with voters, or otherwise violated this Law, as well as the members of electoral committees or other officers who have falsified, damaged, destroyed, seized or hidden election documents, fraudulently counted the votes, violated the secrecy of the voting or otherwise violated this Law, shall be held liable under the laws of the Republic of Lithuania.

Article 45The Right of Candidates for Councillor to be Relieved from Work or the Official Duties

1.After the announcement by the Central Electoral Commission of the lists of the parties participating in elections, a candidate for councillor shall, upon his written request, be relieved from work or the official duties, but for not longer than 30 days. A request to be relieved from work or the official duties shall be submitted to the person who has the right to grant leave.
2.The provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply to a candidate for councillor who is the President of the Republic or the Seimas member. The procedure for relieving a candidate for councillor who is a member of the Government from the official duties shall be laid down in the Law on the Government.

Article 46The Immunity of a Candidate for Councillor

After the announcement by the Central Electoral Commission of the lists of the parties participating in elections as well as prior to the first sitting of a newly elected municipal council, without the consent of the Central Electoral Commission a candidate for councillor may not be found criminally liable, arrested, nor his freedom can be restricted otherwise.

SEVENTH CHAPTER ELECTION CAMPAIGN

Article 47Basic Principles of Election Campaign

1.The provisions of this Law regulating the election campaign shall apply upon the announcement of the election date. Election campaign expenses and political advertising expenses must be declared in the manner prescribed by the law and must not exceed the maximum permissible amount of political campaign expenses fixed by the law.
2.Election campaign may be conducted in any form and manner, provided it does not violate the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Lithuania, conflict with the morals, justice or society’s cohesiveness, contravene fair and respectable elections.
3.Requirements for the marking of political campaign shall be laid down in laws; the procedure for marking the political campaign shall be laid down by the Central Electoral Commission.

Article 48Conditions and Procedure of Election Campaign

1.After the announcement by the Central Electoral Commission of the lists of the parties participating in elections, the candidates for councillor shall be granted the right to use the state mass media free of charge.
2.The rules for preparing programs for election campaign shall be approved and the actual duration and time of the Lithuanian national radio and television programs shall be established by the Central Electoral Commission after consultation with the head of the Lithuanian national radio and television. The Central Electoral Commission shall also distribute the time of the programs in such a manner that the principle of the equality of candidates for councillor is preserved.
3.Discussions of candidates for councillor over the radio and television shall be financed with funds of the state budget from the appropriations allocated for the Central Electoral Commission.
4.The Central Electoral Commission shall:
1)in accordance with the procedure laid down by the law, choose producers and broadcasters of discussion programmes;
2)approve the rules on producing discussions.
5.Groups of independent participants of political campaign taking part in discussions (consisting of two and more persons) shall be set up by mutual agreement and in the event of failure to reach mutual agreement - by drawing lots.
6.All broadcasters shall enjoy the right to produce, on their own initiative, discussion programmes in compliance with the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 18 of the Law on Funding of Political Parties and Political Campaigns, and Control of Funding. Other terms and conditions provided for in this Article shall not apply to the said broadcasters.
7.The election programme of a list of candidates for councillor shall, within 20 days after its submission, be published by the constituency electoral committee in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission.
8.The procedure for publishing election programmes shall be established by the Central Electoral Commission. The election programme of a list of candidate for councillor shall not be announced after the election day and during the period of prohibition of election campaign.
9.Under this Law outdoor political advertising shall be political advertising communicated to the public by video or audio means. Outdoor political advertising shall also be political advertising which is announced in public areas, buildings, vehicles.

10 It shall be prohibited to install and communicate outdoor political advertising:

1)on the buildings occupied by state administration, law-enforcement and other state and municipal institutions and establishments;
2)inside or outside the vehicles belonging to state or municipal enterprises;
3)in motorways and their sanitary protection areas, as well as in streets and along the side thereof, if it might block technical traffic regulation means and road signs, decrease visibility, blind traffic participants, distract attention thereof, thus increasing the danger to traffic participants, and also it is prohibited to use advertising that imitates road signs;
4)on sculptures and monuments;
5)within 50 metres around the building which houses a polling station;
6)without the consent of the owner of the land, construction works or other structures on or in which it is being set up.
11.Outdoor political advertising on/in protected territories and immovable cultural properties, as well as their territories shall be permitted only upon the co-ordination with a state agency responsible for the protection of cultural properties and an agency authorised by the founder of the protected territory.
12.A person who displayed outdoor political advertising shall have an obligation to remove outdoor political advertising before the beginning of the period established by the law when election campaigning is prohibited.
13.Persons who have violated the requirements of the procedure for installing and communicating outdoor political advertising shall be held liable under the law.
14.All disputes concerning the election campaign shall be settled by the Central Electoral Commission in compliance with this Law.

Article 49Publicising of Material Compromising a Candidate for Councillor and a Countering Opinion of the Candidate

1.If, after the announcement by the Central Electoral Commission of the lists of the parties participating in elections, the mass media publicise some material compromising a candidate for councillor (such data may be publicised not later than: in a means of the mass media which is issued more than three times a week - 5 days prior to the election, in other means of the mass media - 10 days before the election, but in all cases the material compromising a candidate may be publicised not later than in the issue preceding the last issue of a means of the mass media prior to elections), it must provide the candidate with a possibility of expressing a countering opinion, which consists of a short exposition of the publicised compromising material and the candidate’s reply. The extent of the countering opinion usually may not exceed the volume of the compromising material more than three times. The means of the mass media must publicise the candidate’s countering opinion within 7 days after it has been expressed, but not later than prior to the 2 days remaining before the end of the period allowed for election campaigning. If the means of the mass media itself cannot publicise the candidate’s countering opinion during the period of time set by this Law, it must with its own funds publicise the candidate’s countering opinion in another means of the mass media.
2.The material which is aimed to influence voters not to vote for an individual candidate and which contains information negatively describing the candidate shall be considered as material compromising the candidate. An opinion about the candidate publicised in the mass media (unlike the information, criteria of the truth shall not be applied to an opinion), negative as well, shall not be considered as compromising material and shall not entitle the candidate to demand publicising of a countering opinion. A demand by the candidate’s to publicise a countering opinion may not be met also when: the material publicised does not concern him personally; the publicised material about him is not compromising; the compromising material about the candidate is publicised by him or by another candidate who is nominated on the same list of candidates or is nominated by the same party; the material contains no information describing the candidate; the candidate has already used the right to a countering opinion.
3.If the candidate has duly furnished the countering opinion to the means of the mass media, but it has not been publicised, by the decision of the Central Electoral Commission the candidate’s countering opinion shall be broadcast on the National Radio or Television of Lithuania and shall be paid for at the price of advertisements. In this event, the means of the mass media must pay the Central Electoral Commission two times the amount of the broadcast cost.
4.If the compromising material about the candidate has been publicised during the period of time when it cannot be publicised according to this Law, by the decision of the Central Electoral Commission the candidate’s countering opinion shall be broadcast on the National Radio or Television and shall be paid for at the price of advertisements. In this instance the means of the mass media must pay the Central Electoral Commission three times the amount of the broadcast cost.
5.In all cases a countering opinion shall not be publicised during the period of the prohibition of an election campaign. Publicising of a countering opinion shall not exempt the means of the mass media from responsibility under laws of the Republic of Lithuania.
6.When a countering opinion of the candidate is publicised by the decision of the Central Electoral Commission, the cost of publicising established by this Law shall be exacted without suit from that means of the mass media which has publicised the material compromising the candidate during the prohibited period or has not publicised the candidate’s countering opinion in time.

Article 50Releasing the Material Compromising a Party which has Nominated a List of Candidates and the Countering Opinion

1.If, after the announcement by the Central Electoral Commission of the lists of the parties participating in elections, the mass media release the material compromising a party which has nominated a list of candidates (such data may be released not later than: in a means of the mass media which is issued more frequently than three times a week - 5 days before the election, in other means of the mass media - 10 days before the election, but in any case the material compromising the party which has nominated a list of candidates may be released not later than in the last but one issue of a means of the mass media before elections), it must provide the party or one of the branches of the party with a possibility to express a countering opinion. The countering opinion shall consist of a short exposition of the released compromising material and the party’s reply. The extent of the countering opinion usually may not exceed the volume of the compromising material more than three times. The means of the mass media must announce the countering opinion within 7 days after it has been expressed, but not later than 2 days before the prohibition of campaigning becomes effective. If the means of the mass media itself cannot announce the countering opinion during the period of time set by this Law, it must make arrangements to publicise the countering opinion with its own funds in another means of the mass media.
2.The material that is aimed at influencing voters not to vote for the candidates nominated by a specific party and which contains information negatively describing the party (its branch or division) shall be considered as compromising material. An opinion about the party, political organisation announced in the mass media (unlike hard news, criteria of truth shall not apply to an opinion), including a negative opinion, shall not be considered as compromising material and shall not grant the party the right to demand announcement of a countering opinion. The demand to announce a countering opinion may also be rejected in cases when: the released material doe not concern the party; the released material is not compromising; the compromising material about the party is released by a candidate nominated by the party; the material contains no information characterising the party; the party has already exercised the right to a countering opinion.
3.The party shall give its countering opinion to the means of the mass media through its representative for the elections at the Central Electoral Commission or through its representative for the elections at the constituency electoral committee. In the event the representative for elections has given the countering opinion to the means of the mass media by the due date, but it has not been made public, the countering opinion shall be broadcast, on the decision of the Central Electoral Commission, on the National Radio or Television of Lithuania and shall be paid for at the rates of advertisement fees. In this event, the means of the mass media must pay the Central Electoral Commission double the amount of the broadcast costs.
4.If the compromising material was released during the time period when its release is not permitted under this Law, by the decision of the Central Electoral Commission the candidate’s countering opinion shall be broadcast on the National Radio or Television of Lithuania and shall be paid for at the rates of advertisement fees. In this event the means of the mass media must pay the Central Electoral Commission three times the amount of the broadcast costs.
5.In any case a countering opinion shall not be announced during the period when campaigning is prohibited. Announcement of a countering opinion shall not exempt the means of the mass media from liability under the laws of the Republic of Lithuania.
6.When the countering opinion is released on the decision of the Central Electoral Commission, the costs of such release, set by this Law, shall be recovered without suit from that means of the mass media which has released the material compromising the party which has nominated a list of candidates during the period when such release is not permitted or has not announced the candidate’s countering opinion.

Article 51Prohibition to Conduct Election Campaigning while Abusing one’s Official Position

1.Anyone shall be prohibited from abusing his official position in state or municipal institutions, establishments or organisations, as well as in the state or municipal mass media when carrying out any type of election campaign, from instructing other persons to do so, or from trying to exert influence upon the will of voters in any other manner, while using his official position. State and municipal officials and civil servants shall be prohibited from using their official position in creating for themselves or their party, exceptional election campaigning conditions. An administrative or criminal action may, in accordance with the procedure established by laws, be taken against the person who has violated this Article.
2.If a person is a candidate for councillor, he can use the state or municipal mass media only according to the procedure laid down in Article 48 of this Law. If the fulfilment of their duties requires announcing to the mass media important news, they may do it only at a press conference. The state or municipal mass media may publicise only a recording of such conference, which contains no election campaigning.

Article 52Funding of Political Campaigning of Elections to Municipal Councils

Funding of political campaigning of elections to municipal councils shall be regulated by the Law on the Control of Financing of Political Parties and Political Campaigns.

Article 53Prohibition of Campaigning on election day

1.Campaigning, regardless of its methods, forms and measures, shall be prohibited during the 30 hours preceding elections and on election day, with the exception of permanent visual campaign material in the places intended for this, provided that it was displayed at least 48 hours prior to the beginning of the elections. During the period of election campaign prohibition no visual campaigning material (with the exception of those issued by the Central Electoral Commission) may be displayed in a polling station or within 50 meters of the building in which a polling station is located.
2.Information about the course of elections, their importance for the life of the country, the number of voters who have come to vote, the documents necessary to have when voting, invitation to come to vote or any other information which does not urge not to participate in elections, vote for or against a candidate or a list of candidates, shall not be regarded as election campaign.
3.Persons who have violated the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall be punishable under law.

EIGHTH CHAPTER PREPARATORY ACTIVITIES OF THE ORGANISATION OF ELECTIONS

Article 54Establishment of Election Document Samples

The Central Electoral Commission shall establish the samples and forms of voter certificates, ballot papers, lists of candidates to councillor, posters with data about a candidate (candidates), voucher envelopes and outer envelopes for voting by post, other documents, blanks, questionnaires, official envelopes, packages, seals used in elections, as well as the samples for filling them out.

Article 55Ballot Papers

1.During elections to municipal councils, each voter shall be presented with one ballot paper - for voting for a list of candidates and for the preference of five candidates from this list.
2.The ballot paper must contain the following:
1)instructions for the voter how to fill in a ballot paper, and special spaces in the ballot paper allotted for expressing voter's will;
2)allotting equal space for each list of candidates in one part of a ballot paper, election numbers and names of lists of candidates printed in the same type and arranged according to the assigned election numbers in an increasing order. The size of a type of the name of a list of candidates shall be chosen such which would best fit to fill the space designated for inscription. Moreover, A ballot paper shall contain the names and surnames of not more candidates, appearing first on the list, than the number of municipal council members to be elected in that municipality;
3)the second part of the ballot paper shall contain five special spaces where a voter puts down the election numbers of chosen candidates when voting.

Article 56Delivery of Ballot Papers

1.Constituency electoral committees shall deliver ballot papers and envelopes to central post offices at least 2 days prior to the beginning of voting by post, ballot papers to polling districts - no later than 12 hours preceding the beginning of voting.
2.The Central Electoral Commission shall be responsible for the publishing of ballot papers and envelopes for voting by post, as well as for keeping of records and delivery thereof without violating the fixed time limits.

Article 57Preparation of Polling Stations

1.The polling station of a polling district must be completely prepared for elections not later than 12 hours before the beginning of voting. By that time all ballot papers received from the constituency electoral committee would have to be counted by the electoral committee and their acceptance report would have to be drawn up. In the polling station of a polling district there must be a ballot box, secret voting booth (booths) where a voter could fill in ballot papers in secrecy. Campaign material or voter information material, issued by the Central Electoral Commission, may be displayed and lists of candidates for elections in this constituency must be displayed in the polling station. The text of this Law must be accessible in each polling district.

The election campaign material, except for the material issued by the Central Electoral Commission, must be removed from the polling station, passageways leading to or out of it (corridors) and within 50 metres of the building in which the polling station is situated. Working places for the electoral committee members and local election observers must also be arranged. Upon completion of the preparations the polling station shall be closed, sealed, left under the police protection and the chairman of the polling district electoral committee shall inform the constituency electoral committee of this. 2. Other requirements for the preparation of polling stations shall be established by the Central Electoral Commission.

3.The chairman of a polling district electoral committee shall be responsible for the timely and proper preparation of a polling station. In the event that the municipality does not allot suitable premises for establishing a polling station or fails to provide the inventory required for voting, the polling district electoral committee chairman must inform the constituency electoral committee and adopt appropriate measures to locate a suitable polling station and acquire the appropriate inventory as provided for in Article 9 of this Law.

Article 58Election Observers

1.Parties as well as the representative for the elections shall have the right to appoint election observers. An election observer shall be a person bearing the certificate in the form established by the Central Electoral Commission. He shall have the right to observe elections conducted within the territory of that constituency or polling district which is indicated in his certificate. The observer’s certificate shall be issued by:
1)the Central Electoral Commission - to observe elections within the entire territory of the Republic of Lithuania or only within specific constituencies, polling districts in accordance with the recommendation of the Foreign Affairs Minister, recommendation of an adviser to the President of the Republic, requests by individuals representing foreign states or international institutions, and also according to its own discretion;
2)a constituency electoral committee - to observe elections within the entire territory of this constituency or in one or several polling districts to over 18 years of age citizens of the Republic of Lithuania and persons having the active right to vote under this Law, pursuant to the request of a local office or a representative for the elections of the party, in which the name, surname of the person, personal number, name of the polling district must be indicated.
2.The observer’s certificate shall be issued by the chairman of the electoral committee on behalf of the electoral committee or by any other member of the committee at the behest of the committee chairman. It shall not be allowed to refuse to issue a certificate or delay its issuance, if the person to whom it should be issued meets the requirements of this Law. All refusals to issue an observer’s certificate shall be reported at the next committee sitting and an appropriate representative for elections shall be notified thereof.
3.An election observer shall be entitled to demand that the chairman and members of an electoral committee, as well as persons who are in the polling station to adhere to this and other laws of the Republic of Lithuania. Electoral committees must take care of providing an election observer with proper conditions at the polling station of a polling district to monitor the observance of this Law. If an observer violates this or other laws himself, his observer’s certificate may be annulled by the decision of the chairman of the constituency electoral committee, and the members of the electoral committee, the Central Electoral Commission and an appropriate representative for elections shall be immediately informed about the decision.

NINTH CHAPTER VOTING

Article 59Time and Place of Voting

Voting shall take place on election day from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the place designated by the electoral committee of the polling district. The voter shall vote in the polling district on the electoral roll of which his name has been entered, unless this Law provides otherwise.

Article 60Prohibition to Carry out other Activities in the Polling Station

It shall not be allowed to carry out any other activities in the polling station, except organisation of the election and voting. It shall also not be allowed to carry out any activities in the passageways leading to or out of the polling station (corridors) and at the entrance to the building where the polling station is situated.

Article 61Commencement of Voting

On election day the polling station shall be opened only when at least 3/5 of the members of the electoral committee of the polling district are present. Prior to opening of the polling station for voters, only the electoral committee members, observers and the policeman on duty can be present inside. The chairman of the electoral committee, together with the members of the electoral committee, shall make sure that a ballot box is empty and seal it up. After the polling district electoral committee checks that the polling station has been furnished without violation of the established requirements, the chairman of the polling district electoral committee shall register in the vote count record the total amount of the ballot papers received by the polling district electoral committee from the constituency electoral committee, stamp ballot papers, distribute ballot papers and the voter list among the members of the electoral committee, register the number of ballot papers distributed among each member of the electoral committee into the vote count record of the polling district, and open the polling station, thereby proclaiming the commencement of the elections.

Article 62Voter Identification

1.At the entrance to the polling station, a voter shall present his voter certificate, passport or other document proving his identity to an electoral committee member of the polling district. Upon having established that the voter has arrived at the polling district on the electoral roll of which he has been entered, a committee member shall hand the voter an arrival card, stamped with the seal of the polling district, indicating the numerical order of the voter’s arrival at the polling station to vote and shall show the committee member to be applied to for a ballot. It shall not be permitted to hand several arrival cards to one voter or to hand another voter’s arrival card to him. If upon arriving at the polling station, the person does not have the required documents or it is not clear whether he has been entered on the electoral roll of this polling district, the committee member shall not hand the arrival card to this person, shall hand him a guest’s card and refer him to the committee chairman or deputy chairman to find out about voting.
2.The committee member who is instructed to hand out the ballot papers, having established on the basis of the produced documents that the person who arrived to vote is indeed the person who has been entered on the electoral roll, or provided that two persons entered on the electoral roll of that polling district witness to this fact in writing to the electoral committee chairman, shall find the surname of the voter on the electoral roll and shall accept the voter certificate and the arrival card from the person. After the voter and the committee member, who hands ballot papers, sign on the electoral roll of the polling district, the voter shall be handed one ballot paper. The voter certificate and arrival card shall not be returned to the voter. In voting by post, in advance or at home, an entry shall be made on the voter certificate concerning the issue of a ballot paper, and the voter certificate shall be returned to the voter.
3.It shall be prohibited to hand the voter the ballot paper of another person. The member of an electoral committee who violates this provision shall be liable under law.

Article 63Voting Procedure

1.Having been handed a ballot paper, the voter shall proceed to the voting booth and mark the ballot paper. It shall be prohibited to mark a ballot paper outside the voting booth.
2.On a ballot paper the voter shall mark that list of candidates whom he is voting “for” and shall, in the places specially designated for this purpose, put down the election numbers of five chosen candidates from the list of candidates he has voted for. If the election number of the same candidate is put down two or more times, only one vote shall be counted for this candidate according to this ballot paper.
3.The voter shall personally cast his marked ballot paper into the ballot box.
4.Upon the request of a voter, a spoiled ballot paper shall be exchanged for a new one. After a spoiled ballot paper is crossed out and signed by the member of the electoral committee who hands out a new ballot paper, the spoiled papers shall be kept separately.
5.The voter who because of his physical disability is unable to mark his ballot paper and cast it into the ballot box himself, may invite another person (with the exception of the chairman of the electoral committee or its member, or an election observer) to carry out these actions in his place. A voter who has no physical disabilities, which would prevent him from filling in the ballot paper, must vote by himself.

Article 64Voting by Post

1.Voting by post shall be made possible for voters who due to the health or age are in healthcare (except out-patient), social guardianship and care establishments or carry out mandatory military service and therefore are unable to arrive at a polling district, or they carry out active military service, civil service or work under employment contracts in international military operations abroad, or serve a sentence of arrest or imprisonment. Postal voting shall be possible at post offices set specially for postal voting (hereinafter referred to as “special post offices”) during their business hours on a last Wednesday, Thursday or Friday before election day. In military units deployed abroad postal voting shall be conducted in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission, on the recommendation of the Ministry of National Defence. Expenses related to postal voting shall be covered with the funds of the State Budget.
2.The head of an appropriate post office shall be responsible for organising postal voting. The chairman of the electoral committee of the polling district on the territory whereof the post office is situated shall be responsible for organising the supervision over the post office work related to voting by post. He shall, in conjunction with the chairmen of other polling district committees whom the constituency electoral committee has assigned with such a task, organise that members of polling district committees participate during voting in special post offices. Commanders of military units deployed abroad shall be responsible for organising voting by post in those units.
3.The head of the post office, with the consent of the constituency electoral committee, shall appoint postal workers for the issue and collection of ballot papers and voucher envelopes during voting by post, who are entrusted with the work with election documents. If the constituency electoral committee requests so, the head of the post office must remove a postal worker from work with election documents. Postal workers who are authorised to issue and accept election documents shall be issued by the constituency electoral committee the certificates in the established form. A postal worker who is not in possession of such certificate shall not have the right to issue and accept election documents. An electoral committee member, election observer, having produced his certificate to the postal worker, a voter, having produced the voter certificate and the document proving his identity, shall have the right to write his remark on this certificate, and the head of the post office shall immediately notify the constituency electoral committee about this remark.
4.In the places referred to in Articles 66, 67 and 68 of this Law there must be some premises (place) where the voter can, without interference and in secrecy, mark the ballot papers and put them into a voucher envelope. In these cases voting procedure may be observed by the observers who have certificates permitting them to observe elections in any polling district.
5.The postal worker shall issue election documents in accordance with the procedure established by the Central Electoral Commission. Together with ballot papers voters shall be given envelopes for voting by post. An outer envelope for voting by post shall be addressed by the postal worker to the electoral committee of the polling district, which is indicated in the voter certificate of the person.
6.The voter shall vote personally and in secrecy:
1)mark the ballot paper;
2)put the marked ballot paper into the voucher envelope;
3)seal the voucher envelope;
4)place the voucher envelope into the outer envelope together with the voter certificate;
5)seal the outer envelope.
7.The sealed outer envelope (with the voter certificate, voucher envelope and ballot papers in it) the voter shall hand to a postal worker (person who issued election documents). Upon having received the envelope handed by the voter, the postal worker shall seal the envelope with a special mark and give the voter a receipt confirming the acceptance of this envelope.
8.Actions referred to in paragraphs 6 and 7 of this Article shall be carried out by a voter himself. If because of the physical disability a voter is unable to carry out the said actions himself, at his request such actions shall be carried out by a person he chooses. This person must mark the ballot papers in the voter’s presence in compliance with his instructions and preserve the secrecy of voting.
9.Postal workers shall be prohibited from carrying out for a voter the actions referred to in paragraphs 6 and 7 of this Article, as well as accepting from the voter an outer envelope which is not sealed, issuing voters with election documents in other places and to other persons than those provided for in Articles 66, 67 and 68 of this Law.
10.Voters shall be prohibited from taking out of special post offices the postal ballot papers, voucher envelopes or handing them to other persons.

Article 65Voting at Home and Voting in Advance

1.Only the following persons may vote at home: disabled voters, voters with temporary working incapacity, voters aged 70 and over if because of the health condition they are unable to come to a polling district on election day and if they have produced a voter’s request, the form of which is set by the Central Electoral Commission, for voting at home and are entered on the roll of voters voting at home. Electoral committees which make up and verify such lists shall be entitled to receive information concerning disabled persons from the State Social Insurance Fund Board or its territorial departments, and information concerning persons with temporary working incapacity – from healthcare establishments. Electoral committees may not disseminate this information and shall use it only for the purpose of making-up and verification of lists of voters voting at home.
2.Only those voters may vote in advance, who are unable to arrive to a polling district to vote on election day. A constituency electoral committee shall organise voters’ voting in advance. Voting in advance must be conducted from 12.00 to 8.00 pm on the Wednesday and Thursday preceding election day, in the premises prepared beforehand and fitted for voting, which are situated in the building in which a workplace of the municipal mayor (director of the administration) is located. In order to hand out and accept ballot papers and voting envelopes when voting in advance, the chairman of a constituency electoral committee shall appoint not less than 2 members of a constituency electoral committee or district electoral committees who may not be proposed by the same political party. Voting in advance shall be supervised by the chairman of a constituency electoral committee or, upon his instruction, a member of the constituency electoral committee.
3.Voters’ requests for voting at home shall be submitted to polling district committees. The committees shall begin to accept requests of voters, residing within the territory of a concrete polling district, for voting at home by handing voter certificates to such voters and end accepting the requests on the Thursday preceding election day. Accepting of requests for voting at home of voters who temporarily stay within the territory of a concrete polling district and have not been entered on the electoral roll of this polling district shall end on the Tuesday preceding election day. A voter who because of his physical disability is unable to fill in a request for voting at home or to hand it to a polling district committee, may authorise his family member, neighbour or a person who takes care of him to carry out the said actions for him. These persons shall sign the voter’s request and indicate their name, surname and personal number.
4.On the Thursday preceding election day a polling district committee shall draw up and approve a roll of voters voting at home who are entered on the electoral roll of that polling district. On the Wednesday preceding election day a constituency electoral committee shall draw up and approve a roll of voters who reside or temporarily stay within the territory of a concrete polling district, but have been entered on the electoral roll of another polling district and have not been entered on the electoral roll of this polling district when revising them.
5.On the Friday or Saturday preceding election day, from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm at least two members of a polling district committee shall deliver voucher envelopes and ballot papers to the homes of the voters who have been entered on the roll of the polling district voters voting at home and who are the voters of this polling district. On the Thursday preceding election day at least two members of a constituency electoral committee or, upon the instruction of its chairman, at least two members of a polling district committee shall deliver voucher envelopes and ballot papers to the homes of the voters who have been entered on the roll of the constituency voters voting at home, but who have not been entered on the electoral roll of the polling district within the territory of which they temporarily stay.

Voting at home and voting in advance may be observed by election observers who have a certificate to observe elections in any polling district. After the completion of voting, sealed outer envelopes shall be transferred to the post office which shall transfer them to polling districts together with election documents of voters who voted by post. Lists of voters who voted at home and in advance, ballot papers which were not used, shall be included into the accounting and preserved by the electoral committees which organised voting. After the end of elections such committees shall transfer the said documents together with other elections documents to an appropriate constituency electoral committee or the Central Electoral Commission.

6.A concrete schedule of electoral committee members’ coming to the homes of voters shall be approved by the chairman of a polling district or constituency committee not later than, respectively, in the Thursday or Wednesday preceding the noon of election day. This schedule shall be made public; its copy shall be posted up on the billboard of the polling district (constituency) electoral committee on the day of approval of the schedule. Only the electoral committee members and election observers proposed by different political parties may come together to the homes of the voters.
7.The provisions of paragraphs 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 of Article 64 of this Law shall apply to voting at home and voting in advance.
8.The sealed outer envelope (with the voter certificate, voucher envelope and ballot papers in it) the voter shall hand to a member of the polling district (constituency) electoral committee. Upon having received the envelope handed by the voter, he shall seal the envelope with a special mark and give the voter a receipt confirming the acceptance of this envelope.
9.When a voter votes at home, it shall be prohibited to exert influence on his determination and to hasten his voting. Committee members and observers shall be prohibited from carrying out the actions for a voter, referred to in paragraphs 6 and 7 of Article 64 of this Law, as well as from accepting an unsealed outer envelope from a voter. Voters shall be prohibited from taking out ballot papers or giving them to other persons.

Article 66Voting in Healthcare (except out-patient) Facilities and Institutions of Social Guardianship and Care

1.Voters who because of their health condition or age are in healthcare (except out-patient) facilities, institutions of social guardianship or care shall be entitled to vote in such institutions.
2.A constituency electoral committee shall, not later than 15 days prior to election day and upon the recommendation of the heads of the institutions specified in paragraph 1 of this Article, draw up a list of special post offices and, upon the recommendation of the head of the post office, set such working hours of the post offices that the days of voting in them would be in compliance with paragraph 1 of Article 64 of this Law.
3.The heads of the institutions referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall draw up a list of voters voting in a special office. The following must be indicated in such a list: voter’s name and surname, personal number, whether or not a voter has a voter certificate. The head of the institution shall transfer a list of voters voting in a special post office to a constituency electoral committee, receive voter certificates from it or print them according to the date received via means of electronic communication and ensure the delivery of the certificates to voters, allot the premises appropriate for voting, and be responsible that the voters would be notified about the working place and time of a special post office, and that the conditions would be created for voters to reach it.
4.Voters who are able to move shall vote themselves in accordance with the procedure covered in paragraphs 6 and 8 of Article 64 of this Law. Voters who are unable to move shall be visited by at least 2 polling district committee members, election observers (should they wish so) and employees of special post offices.
5.If because of the physical disability voters are unable to vote themselves, they may entrust other persons to vote for them. These persons must mark the ballot papers in the presence of the voter according to his instructions and preserve the secrecy of voting.
6.Electoral committee members, employees of a special post office and election observers shall be prohibited from carrying out the actions related to voting, as well as from accepting from the voter an outer envelope which is not sealed.
7.It shall be prohibited to exert influence upon the self-determination of a voter voting in healthcare (except out-patient), social guardianship and care institutions, or to rush him to vote.

Article 67Voting in Military Units

1.Voters performing mandatory military service shall be entitled to vote in the military units where they serve. Voters performing active military service, civil service or working under employment contracts in international military operations abroad shall be entitled to vote in military units stationed abroad, which participate in those international military operations. The procedure for voting in military units stationed abroad shall be laid down by the Central Electoral Commission on the recommendation of the Minister of National Defence.
2.A constituency electoral committee shall, not later than 15 days prior to election day and upon the recommendation of the commanders of military units stationed within the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, draw up a list of special post offices and, upon the recommendation of the head of the post office, set such working hours of the post offices that the days of voting in them would be in compliance with paragraph 1 of Article 64 of this Law.
3.The commanders of military units shall draw up a list of voters voting in a special office. The following must be indicated in such list: voter’s name and surname, personal number, constituency (name and number), whether or not a voter has a voter certificate. The commander of a military unit shall transfer a list of voters voting in a special post office to a constituency electoral committee, receive voter certificates from it or print them according to the date received via means of electronic communication and ensure the delivery of the certificates to voters, allot the premises appropriate for voting, and be responsible that the voters would be notified about the working place and time of a special post office, and that the conditions would be created for voters to reach it. In it is impossible to set a special post office or to ensure that voters will be able to properly carry out actions related to voting, the commanders of military units (with the exception of the commanders of the military units stationed abroad) shall create conditions for voters to go to another special post office for voting or on election day to travel to a polling district on the electoral roll of which they have been entered.
4.The provisions of paragraphs 6, 7, 8 and 10 of Article 64 of this Law shall apply to voting in military units.
5.It shall be prohibited to exert influence upon self-determination of a voter voting in a military unit, or to rush him to vote.

Article 68Polls in Penal Institutions

1.Voters who serve arrest or imprisonment sentence shall be entitled to vote in an institution they serve a sentence.
2.A constituency electoral committee shall, not later than 15 days prior to the election day and upon the recommendation of the heads of penal institutions, draw up a list of special post offices and, upon the recommendation of the head of the post office, set such working hours of the post offices that polling days in them would be in compliance with paragraph 1 of Article 64 of this Law.
3.The heads of penal institutions shall draw up a list of voters voting in special post offices. The following must be indicated in such list: voter’s name and surname, personal number, constituency (name and number), whether or not a voter has a voter certificate. The head of a penal institution shall transfer a list of voters voting in a special post office to a constituency electoral committee, receive voter certificates from it or print them according to the date received via means of electronic communication and ensure the delivery of the certificates to voters, allot the premises appropriate for voting, and be responsible that the voters would be notified about the working place and time of a special post office, and that the conditions would be created for voters to reach it.
4.The provisions of Article 64 of this Law shall apply to voting in penal institutions.
5.The provisions of this Article and Article 64 of this Law shall apply to voting in arrest houses, remand prisons (detention facilities).
6.It shall be prohibited to exert influence on self-determination of a voter voting in penal institutions, or to rush him to vote.

TENTH CHAPTER COUNTING OF VOTES

Article 69Counting of Voucher Envelopes and Ballot Papers in Post Offices

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