5.The electoral committee of the electoral area shall count the votes in the following manner: totals the data submitted by the electoral committees of the electoral districts and adds to them those votes cast by the voters by post, which have been counted in the electoral committee of the electoral area.
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Article 80The Presentation of Vote Count Documents of the Electoral Area to the Central Electoral Committee
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All documents (except financial documentation) received from electoral districts, voter lists, the vote count record of the electoral area, the records of the electoral committee of the electoral area for the whole period of the activities and other election documents shall be put into special packages and sealed by the electoral committee of the electoral area. Packages shall be delivered to the Central Electoral Committee within the time period established by the Central Electoral Committee.
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Article 81The Participation of Observers in the Counting of Votes and Establishment of Election Results
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1.The election observers and also representatives of the mass media may participate in the calculation of votes in electoral districts and areas, and also in the establishment of election results in electoral areas.
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2.The observers shall have the right to make remarks and claims to the appropriate electoral committees concerning the violations of this and other laws of the Republic of Lithuania, but they must not hinder the work of electoral committees. The observers shall have the right to make a written protest to the electoral committee of the electoral district, which shall be attached to the vote count record of the electoral district and delivered to the electoral committee of the electoral area together with other election documents of the electoral district. The protest of an election observer to the electoral committee of the electoral area shall be attached to the vote count record of the appropriate electoral area. The protests shall be considered by that electoral committee to whom they have been filed.
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Article 82Publication of the Preliminary Election Results
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1.Preliminary election results may be publicised only by the Central Electoral Committee. If the electoral committee of the electoral area delivers the preliminary data of the election results in all electoral districts, the Central Electoral Committee must immediately prepare a report to the mass media. This report shall be submitted to the Lithuanian Telegram Agency (ELTA) in the first place.
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2.The representatives of the mass media shall be prohibited from disseminating the information about vote count or election results by video or sound recording equipment, orally, in writing, or otherwise, until the report of the Central Electoral Committee.
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Article 83Complaints against the Decisions of Electoral Committees which Have Been Adopted after the Closing of Voting
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1.Parties, political organisations which have nominated lists of candidates, candidates, their representatives for elections, election observers may appeal against the decisions of electoral committees of electoral districts concerning the drawing up of vote count records committee of the electoral area not later than within 24 hours of their drawing up. These complaints must be considered not later than within 24 hours.
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2.The decisions of the electoral committee of the electoral area concerning vote count records may be appealed against to the Central Electoral Committee not later than within 72 hours following their drawing up and must be considered before the official proclamation of election results.
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3.While considering complaints against the decisions of electoral committees of electoral districts concerning the drawing up of vote count records, electoral committees of electoral areas, in the presence of at least 3/5 of the committee members, may recount ballot papers which are presented by the electoral committee of the electoral district, and, in the event of an mathematical error in the records, incorrectly counted valid and invalid ballot papers, the committees shall draw up an additional vote count record of the electoral district and attach it to the vote count record of the electoral district. The electoral committee of the electoral area shall not have the right to nullify the vote count records of the electoral committee of the electoral district.
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4.While considering the complaint against the decision of the electoral committee of the electoral area concerning the drawing up of the vote count record of the electoral area, the Central Electoral Committee may recount ballot papers which are presented by the electoral committee of the electoral area, and, in the event of an mathematical error in the record, incorrectly counted valid or invalid ballot papers, shall draw up an additional vote count record of the electoral area, electoral district and attach it to the vote count record of the electoral area.
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5.Parties, political organisations which have nominated lists of candidates, may, not later than within 5 days after the official proclamation of the final election results, appeal to the High Administrative Court against the decisions of the Central Electoral Committee or against the refusal of the Central Electoral Committee to investigate complaints concerning the violations of this Law. Complaints regarding the establishment of elections as invalid or the stating of the incorrectness of the election results shall be investigated by the High Administrative Court during a period of 5 days. The decision by the High Administrative Court shall become effective from the moment of its pronouncement.
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Article 84Vote Count Records of the Electoral Committee of the Electoral Area
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1.In accordance with vote count records, ballot papers and other documents of electoral districts, the electoral committee of the electoral area shall establish:
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1)the number of voters who have participated in the elections in the electoral area;
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2)the number of invalid ballot papers in the electoral area;
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3)the number of ballot papers valid in the electoral area;
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4)the number of votes cast for each list of candidates Councillor and
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5)the number of votes cast for each list of candidates 2. The chairman and the members of the electoral committee of the electoral area shall sign the vote count record of the electoral committee of the electoral area only after considering separate opinions of the members of the electoral committees of the electoral districts, remarks of observers and complaints of voters. The electoral committee of the electoral area may recommend the Central Electoral Committee to declare the election in the electoral area invalid.
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ELEVENTH CHAPTER ESTABLISHMENT AND PROCLAMATION OF ELECTION RESULTS
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Article 85The Establishment of Election Results in Multi-Candidate Electoral Areas
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1.The preliminary election results shall be established by the Central Electoral Committee after having considered all complaints and established all election results in this electoral area, including of the voters who have voted on ships and abroad.
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2.The list of candidates of a party political organisation may obtain the candidate to Councillor mandates (participate in allotting mandates) only, if no less than 4 per cent of the voters had voted in favour of it, and the list of coalition candidates, if no less than 6 percent of the total of voters who participated in the elections voted in favour of it. If less than 60 percent of the total number of voters taking part in the elections, voted for the lists participating in allotting mandates areas, and the right to participate in mandate allotment shall be acquired by that list of candidates, which up to that time, had not participated in allotment of mandates (the lists, if an equal number of voters has voted in favour of them), in favour of which was voted by the majority of voters. In the same fashion, the number of the lists of candidates, who hold the right to participate in mandate area allotment, shall be increased to reach such a number of them, when more than 60 percent of the total of voters who have taken part in the elections, have voted in favour of them.
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3.Mandates for the lists of candidates are allotted in accordance with how many votes were received by each one of them, in applying the method of quotas and balances.
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4.At first, the quota shall be counted, that is, how many votes are needed to receive 1 mandate. It shall be equal to the sum of votes, divided by 70, cast by voters for the lists participating in the distribution of mandates. If when dividing, a remainder is received, 1 shall be added to the quotient.
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5.The amount of votes cast for each list shall be divided by the quota. The received integer quotient shall be the number of mandates for each list according to the quota and the remainders of this division shall be used to distribute the remaining mandates according to the remainders. Therefore, all names of the lists shall be written down in succession in which the first follows the last, according to the size of the remainders of the dividing received by the lists, beginning with the largest. If the remainders of two lists are equal, the first written down shall be the list which have received more votes of voters and if these numbers are also equal, the first written down shall be the list which has received more mandates in all electoral areas. If the number of mandates is also equal, the first written down shall be the list which possess the smaller election number. The mandates which have not been distributed when distributing by the method of quotas shall be distributed by one to the lists according to the succession, beginning with the list which was written down first.
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6.If one of the lists received the larger number of mandates than there were candidates on the list, these mandates would be distributed to other lists, further continuing the dividing thereof by the method of quotas.
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7.Candidates of the same list shall receive mandates in the sequential order which was indicated in the application documents of the organisation or coalition submitting the candidates.
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Article 86Establishment and Proclamation of the Final Election Results
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1.The Central Electoral Committee shall establish the final election results after it has considered all complaints and established all election results in this electoral area, within 7 days following the elections. The Central Electoral Committee shall approve without deliberation, the decisions of those electoral areas, regarding which no complaints have been received within 3 days, from the representatives of any of the election organisations submitting lists of candidates, for a violation of this Law, having essential influence on election results. Following approval by the Central Electoral Committee of its decision, the area electoral committee shall publish the electoral area election results no later than within 2 days of the decision approval.
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2.If the Central Electoral Committee changes the decision of the electoral area election committee or adopts a decision concerning a vacant Councillor seat, the Central Electoral Committee shall publish the election results and issue the municipal Councillor certificates no sooner than 7 days following this, and finish no later than within 10 days following the publication of the election results or decision.
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3.The Central Electoral Committee shall refund the election deposits to the organisations which have submitted the lists of candidates, who participated in the mandate allotment, with the exception of the deposits for the lists in those areas, in which they did not participate during the mandate allotment. The deposit shall be refunded within 15 days, following the proclamation of final election results.
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4.The Central Electoral Committee shall within three months from the proclamation of the final election results issue a book about the election results and shall within four months transfer the vote calculation records of electoral districts and electoral areas, application documents (except the forms for the collection of signatures), minutes of the sittings and the decisions of the Central Electoral Committee, as well as the collection of samples of election documents to the State Archives for unlimited safe keeping. After that the Central Electoral Committee may decide to destroy the election documents which are not subject to safe keeping.
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Article 87The Declaration of the Election as Invalid
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1.The Central Electoral Committee may declare the election results in the electoral area invalid if it establishes that severe violations of this Law were committed in the electoral district or electoral area, the falsification of documents or the loss thereof had an essential influence on the election results, and the following essential results cannot be determined from the vote calculation records or other election documents: lists of candidates, participating in allotment of mandates, or it is possible to establish the number of mandates going to a list of candidates only by more than one mandate accuracy.
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Article 88Repeat Elections
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1.Repeat elections shall be held, if the election to the municipal council has been declared invalid in accordance with the procedure established by this Law.
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2.Repeat elections shall be held no later than within 3 months following the recognition of the elections as invalid. The Central Electoral Committee shall also adopt the decision concerning the extension of the authorisation of the electoral area committee to hold repeat election, to change its composition or to make up a new one. Further, repeat elections shall be held according to the procedure established by this Law. The election deposits of organisations submitting lists of candidates, who have previously registered to participate in elections in this area, shall be counted.
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3.Upon declaring by the Central Electoral Committee the results of repeat elections in the electoral area invalid, the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania shall consider a motion made by the Committee on Administrative Reforms and Municipalities regarding introduction of direct rule into the municipality and set the date of new elections to the municipal council.
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Article 89Recognising the Powers of Councillor as Terminated Prior to Expiration of Term
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The Central Electoral Committee shall recognise the powers of Councillor terminated prior to expiration of term, with the exception of a case, when direct rule shall be applied to the municipal territory per decision by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania and in accordance with the procedure established by laws, no later than within 15 days of the occurrence of a cause for it:
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1)upon resignation of the Councillor, namely, according to a resignation statement signed by the same Councillor. This statement by the Councillor, must either be notarised or signed by the mayor and the head of the organisation which had nominated the Councillor, or it should be personally submitted by the Councillor to the Central Electoral Committee;
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2)if the Councillor has failed to attend 3 consecutive Council meetings without a reasonable excuse, in accordance with an effective municipal council decision;
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3)if the court declares the Councillor legally incompetent in accordance with an effective decision of the court.
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4)according to an effective court charge decision namely, in accordance with an effective court sentence;
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5)if a Councillor loses citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania namely, in accordance with the legal act concerning loss of citizenship;
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6)if it comes to light that a Councillor is in violation of Article 91 namely, in accordance with an effective court decision or sentence;
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7)upon the death of a Councillor in accordance with a copy of a notarised death certificate.
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Article 90Filling a Vacant Seat in the Council
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Upon recognising the powers of a Councillor as terminated, a vacancy occurs in the council for the position of Councillor. It shall be filled in the following manner: the top candidate who did not receive a Councillor mandate, from the list of candidates according to which the former Councillor had been elected, shall become a Councillor. If on this list of candidates there are no candidates who have not received mandates, the Councillor’s mandate shall be transferred to another list according to the sequence of lists of candidates comprised according to the remainder method of mandate allotment, i.e., that list, which comes first following the list, which was the last to receive its mandate according to this sequence, and the first candidate, not having received his mandate, who appears on the list with the newly-received mandate, shall become Councillor. The Central Electoral Committee must adopt the decision concerning recognition of the mandate of the Councillor for a new Councillor not later than within 7 days after the occurrence of a vacant seat in the council.
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2)If the person, who should receive the mandate of a Councillor in accordance with part 1 of this Article, is unable to become a Councillor according to Article 2 of this Law or if upon his becoming a Councillor, the provisions of Article 89 of this Law, may not be applied to him immediately, this person shall then be passed over in the sequence of the list of candidates.
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Article 91
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Loss of the Mandate of Councillor Due to Co-operation with the Special Services of Foreign States, which has not been Publicly Announced to Voters and a Previous Conviction 1. Each candidate for the post of Councillor must publicly announce about his conscious co-operation with the special services of foreign states, provided that he was not thereby carrying out the assignments of the Republic of Lithuania. He shall indicate this fact in the questionnaire for a candidate for Councillor. An election poster of a list of candidates, issued by the Central Electoral Committee, must contain the following notice beside the surname of the candidate: “Has consciously and not on the instruction of the Republic of Lithuania co-operated with the special services of a foreign state”.
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2.If the candidate has failed to indicate this and a court’s decision is valid, whereby a fact having juridical meaning is established that this person has consciously co-operated with foreign special services which was not related to carrying out the assignments of the Republic of Lithuania, the Central Electoral Committee shall not register him, as a candidate for Councillor, and in the event it has already registered him, it shall immediately cancel his registration as a candidate for Councillor. If the candidate has not indicated it and after the election to the council, his conscious co-operation with foreign special services which was not related to carrying out the assignments of the Republic of Lithuania, is proved according to the procedure established by laws, his Councillor powers shall be terminated from that day forward.”
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3.Each candidate for Councillor must publicly announce whether, since March 11, 1990, he has been found guilty of a crime, in accordance with a effective sentence by the court of the Republic of Lithuania. He should indicate this on the candidate for Councillor questionnaire. An election poster with a list of candidates for Councillor, published by the electoral committee, must include by the surname of the candidate the following notice: “ Has been found guilty of a crime, by sentence of the court.”
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If a candidate has failed to indicate this, and there exists a court sentence, which has come into effect as of March 11, 1990, according to which the person has been found guilty of a crime, the electoral committee shall not register him as candidate for Councillor, and if had previously registered him, the Central Electoral Committee shall immediately annul his registration as candidate for Councillor. If a candidate has failed to indicate this and it shall become established following the elections to the council, that there exists a court sentence, finding this person guilty of a crime, the Central Electoral Committee shall terminate his powers as a Councillor within 15 days.
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Article 92The Entry into Force of Article 6 of the Law on Elections to the Municipal Councils
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Article 6 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Election to Municipal Councils shall come into effect upon the expiration of the term of the powers of the Councillors elected in 1995.
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I promulgate this Law enacted by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania.
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PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC ALGIRDAS BRAZAUSKAS