Seimas elects chairs of four committees

Lithuania’s parliament, the Seimas, has elected the chairs of four committees, with one social democrat and three democrats taking the roles, LRT reports.

The Health Affairs Committee elected Social Democrat Andrius Busila as its chair on Tuesday. Six committee members voted in favor of his candidacy, while one abstained. The full Seimas must still approve the decision. Busila replaces Lina Šukytė-Korsakė of the “Nemuno aušra” party in the role.

Democrat Jekaterina Rojaka was unanimously elected chair of the Economy and Innovation Committee, with all eight committee members voting in her favor. She succeeds Saulių Bucevičiūtė of “Nemuno aušra”.

Democrat Tomas Tomilinas was elected chair of the Social Affairs and Labor Committee by consensus. He replaces Kęstutis Bilius of “Nemuno aušra”.

Democrat Algirdas Butkevičius was also elected by consensus as chair of the Energy and Sustainable Development Committee. He succeeds Aidas Gedvilas of “Nemuno aušra”, who was elected as deputy chair.

Earlier in June, social democrats decided to terminate their coalition agreement with “Nemuno aušra” and invited the Democratic Union “For Lithuania” to join the majority. In mid-June, the new ruling coalition agreement was signed by the senior members of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party, the Democratic Union “For Lithuania”, and the Lithuanian Farmers, Greens, and Christian Families Union factions. This coalition holds 75 seats in the Seimas.