Lithuanian court upholds election watchdog’s ruling against presidential candidate for campaign violations

A Lithuanian administrative court has dismissed an appeal by former presidential candidate Eduardas Vaitkus, upholding a ruling by the Central Electoral Commission (VRK) that he violated the Electoral Code during the 2024 election campaign, LRT reports.

The Regional Administrative Court ruled Thursday that the VRK’s decision was lawful and well-founded. The commission had found that Vaitkus repeatedly breached campaign regulations by displaying political advertising on a minibus owned by a legal entity without proper authorisation, financing his campaign with prohibited funds, accepting non-compliant donations, and channelling contributions through third parties.

As a result, the VRK ordered Vaitkus to pay the state budget an amount equivalent to the value of the non-monetary donations he received. The court rejected his argument that he bore no responsibility for the minibus advertising, as no formal contract had been signed. Judges determined that the ads clearly promoted his candidacy and that Vaitkus “knew or should have known” about their display, particularly as voter signatures were being collected for his campaign at the same time.

The court also ruled that Vaitkus must have been aware that rental payments for event venues—used for meetings with voters in Biržai, Plungė, Tauragė, Utena, and Kaunas—were being covered by third parties rather than campaign funds, violating electoral laws. Even without direct agreements, the court found he had effectively accepted in-kind donations by using the spaces.

Vaitkus had contested the VRK’s findings, claiming that individuals had rented the venues independently and without his knowledge. However, the court concluded that the commission had correctly assessed all circumstances and applied the law appropriately. The ruling may still be appealed to Lithuania’s Supreme Administrative Court.