Lithuanian politicians accused of coordinating votes to preserve parliamentary immunity

Social Democratic Party members Gintautas Paluckas and Saulius Skvernelis are allegedly coordinating how to vote in a secret ballot to protect Skvernelis’ legal immunity, according to Skirmantas Malinauskas, a civic activist and former advisor to Skvernelis.

Speaking to the news outlet *politika.lt*, Malinauskas claimed he had sources within the Social Democratic Party confirming that Paluckas and Skvernelis were arranging how lawmakers should vote to avoid accountability. “I’ve heard from my sources—including within the Social Democratic Party—that Paluckas’ faction is negotiating with Skvernelis on how to vote in the secret ballot so that no one betrays the other, and the parliamentary immunity is preserved,” he said.

The vote follows a request by the prosecutor general to lift Skvernelis’ immunity, a former prime minister and current leader of the Democrats’ Union “For Lithuania” party. Malinauskas suggested Paluckas may also face scrutiny, given corruption allegations involving his wife, former journalist Ilma Paluckė.

“Paluckas surely understands that suspicions will extend to him if they’ve already been raised about his wife,” Malinauskas said. “If that happens, it would be a disgrace.”

He added that the case reflects broader issues in Lithuanian politics, where multiple party leaders have faced corruption trials. “We can already count on our fingers how many political party leaders have been prosecuted,” he said, citing past cases like those of Mindaugas Sinkevičius and Artūras Žemaitaitis.

Malinauskas also referenced a past dispute with Skvernelis, who had publicly criticised him and another activist, Vytautas Bakas. “He tried to deny it, saying it wasn’t true,” Malinauskas said of Skvernelis’ earlier rebuttals. “But the facts keep piling up.”

The allegations come as prosecutors prepare to formally request Skvernelis’ immunity be revoked, a decision that would require parliamentary approval.