Liberal leader calls family definition referendum unnecessary political tool ahead of local elections

The leader of Lithuania’s opposition Liberal Movement, MP Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, has dismissed a proposed referendum on defining family in the constitution as an unnecessary political manoeuvre ahead of next year’s municipal elections, LRT reports.

“No, in my view, it is not needed—and I’ll explain why,” she told LRT Radio on Wednesday. “The initiators are manipulating the idea of consulting the people. The result of such a referendum, even if held, would not amend the constitution.”

Čmilytė-Nielsen argued the vote would serve only as a non-binding recommendation to lawmakers, who could still propose “unconstitutional projects” by embedding further family definitions into the constitution if they chose. “It seems a significant number of MPs are crafting a political agenda for the municipal elections,” she said. “They know full well this won’t change the constitution—it just gives them a topic to discuss until the vote.”

One of the referendum’s initiators, MP Vytautas Sinica, countered that the proposal aims to gauge public support before any constitutional amendments. “The referendum isn’t about manipulation,” he told LRT Radio. “If the constitution is ever amended, lawmakers would either have the people’s backing or, without it, might not proceed at all.”

A cross-party group of MPs registered the proposal on Tuesday to hold an advisory referendum alongside next year’s municipal elections. Voters would be asked whether to constitutionally enshrine that family legal relations arise “only from marriage between a man and a woman, motherhood, and fatherhood.”

Current constitutional Article 38 states that the family is the foundation of society and the state, which protects family, motherhood, fatherhood, and childhood, with marriage defined as a free union between a man and a woman. Over 60 MPs from various factions support the referendum bid; only the Liberal Movement has declined to join.

Under Lithuanian law, a referendum proposal requires backing from at least a quarter of MPs, with the final decision resting with parliament. An advisory referendum succeeds if more than half of eligible voters participate.

Last April, the Constitutional Court ruled that parliament had violated the constitution by failing for 24 years to adopt a separate law detailing partnership regulations under the Civil Code, including same-sex partnerships.