Lithuanian Democratic Party denies involvement in alleged immunity vote negotiations

The Democratic Party of Lithuania has denied any participation in reported negotiations between former Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis and ex-Parliament Speaker Gintautas Paluckas over preserving parliamentary immunity, acting party leader Virginijus Sinkevičius stated on social media.

In a Facebook post, Sinkevičius dismissed claims—first raised by public figure Skirmantas Malinauskas—that the Democratic Party might engage in talks with Social Democrats on how to vote in proceedings to strip a politician’s legal immunity. “No such possibility exists,” Sinkevičius wrote, adding that the party “has never participated in such processes and has never even considered the idea.”

The comments follow Malinauskas’ earlier assertion in a politika.lt interview that Paluckas and Skvernelis were coordinating votes to maintain immunity, allegedly to avoid mutual accountability. Malinauskas claimed his sources within the Social Democratic Party confirmed discussions on how to vote in a potential secret ballot to protect their parliamentary status.