Lithuania’s Central Electoral Commission to revoke Marijampolė mayor’s mandate after bribery conviction

The Central Electoral Commission (VRK) will revoke the mandate of Marijampolė Mayor Povilas Isoda after an appellate court upheld his conviction in a bribery case, the BNS news agency reports.

The court found Isoda guilty of submitting 37 falsified expense reports between 2019 and 2023, misrepresenting fuel, phone, and internet costs to gain approximately €2,500 in illicit funds. He was sentenced to a €10,000 fine and a three-year ban from holding public office or working in state, municipal, or non-governmental institutions.

Under electoral law, a conviction requires the immediate revocation of his mayoral powers. Isoda has stated he will appeal the ruling. The municipal council will decide on an interim mayor next Monday. Since local elections are due within a year, no early mayoral vote will be held, and the acting mayor will serve until the next scheduled municipal elections in early 2027.

Isoda, mayor since 2019, had previously claimed the expenses were mistakenly submitted using colleagues’ receipts left at the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party’s office. The appellate court ruled his actions were deliberate, not an error.