Lithuania rejects proposal to restrict Russian and Belarusian citizens from voting in municipal elections

The Lithuanian parliament has rejected a proposal to limit the voting rights of Russian and Belarusian citizens in municipal elections, LRT reports.

On Tuesday, lawmakers voted 28–28 with 14 abstentions against amendments to the Constitution and Electoral Code, which would have barred citizens of countries not meeting “European and transatlantic integration criteria” from participating in local elections. The proposal, submitted by conservative opposition MP Dalia Asanavičiūtė-Gružauskienė of the Homeland Union–Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD), also sought to prevent them from running as candidates or donating to election campaigns.

Asanavičiūtė-Gružauskienė argued that voting rights should be clearly linked to Lithuania’s European and transatlantic alignment, citing growing hybrid threats and attempts to influence elections across Europe. She noted that Lithuania remains the only Baltic state allowing third-country nationals to vote in municipal elections, while 14 EU member states restrict such rights to EU citizens only.

However, the Seimas Legal Department raised concerns over compliance with EU Council Directive 94/80/EC, which guarantees voting rights in local elections for EU citizens residing in another member state, provided they meet the same requirements as nationals. The directive, adopted in 1994, ensures EU citizens can vote and stand as candidates in municipal elections in their country of residence.

The rejected proposal would have applied to permanent residents from Russia, Belarus, and other states failing to meet the unspecified “European and transatlantic integration criteria.”