Lithuanian lawmaker pushes for 3% election threshold for ethnic minority parties

A proposal to lower the parliamentary election threshold to 3% for political parties representing ethnic minorities has been rejected by one Lithuanian parliamentary committee but may still advance through another, its author said Tuesday.

Jaroslav Narkevič, a lawmaker from the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania–Christian Families Alliance, told the state news agency ELTA that the State Governance and Local Authorities Committee had opposed the amendment but that he still hopes for approval from the Legal Affairs Committee.

“There’s always a chance,” Narkevič said. “As one football coach put it, as long as the ball is in play, the result is uncertain—but you have to keep playing. We’re not seeking special treatment; we simply want ethnic minorities to be respected and given better conditions for integration.”

The proposed change to the Electoral Code would allow parties, in which over three-quarters of members belong to non-Lithuanian ethnic groups, to win seats in the Seimas if they receive at least 3% of the vote, rather than the current 5% threshold for standard party lists or 7% for coalitions.

Narkevič framed the measure as “positive discrimination,” arguing that similar practices exist in other countries to ensure minority representation. “The key issue is the state’s attitude toward its citizens,” he said.

The proposal cites reports from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), which concluded after the 2012, 2016, and 2020 elections that Lithuania’s threshold for minority parties is excessively high, reducing their chances of winning seats.

The initiative, co-sponsored by six lawmakers from the Electoral Action of Poles and the Peasant and Greens Union, also suggests lowering the general threshold for single-party lists from 5% to 4% and for coalitions from 7% to 6%. The authors argue this would align vote-counting rules across parliamentary, European Parliament, and municipal elections, reducing confusion and encouraging greater political participation.

Under current law, the thresholds vary: 5% for single-party lists and 7% for coalitions in Seimas elections, 5% for European Parliament elections, and 4% (6% for coalitions) in municipal elections.

Any changes to the Electoral Code, classified as a constitutional law, require approval from at least 85 of the Seimas’ 141 members.