Electoral commission probes Nemuno Aušra consultations with member

Lithuania’s Central Electoral Commission is seeking details about consultations that opposition party Nemuno Aušra received from current commission member Laura Matjošaitytė, LRT reported Wednesday.

Commission spokeswoman Indrė Ramanavičienė told BNS that the VRK sent Nemuno Aušra a request a week ago asking whether the party had received services from Matjošaitytė and whether it had paid for them or recorded any debt obligations.

The request followed an August report by news portal Delfi that Matjošaitytė had advised Nemuno Aušra on membership fees and helped prepare the party’s response to the commission before returning to the VRK last year.

The commission asked whether Matjošaitytė had helped draft the response and requested other relevant information. On Tuesday, however, Seimas member Robertas Puchovičius told the VRK that the requested information concerned attorney-client professional secrecy and declined to provide explanations.

Nemuno Aušra gave the same reason for refusing to clarify the situation in a response received by the commission on Wednesday afternoon. The VRK then sent a second request, reminding the party of its duty under the Electoral Code to provide information and documents needed to monitor the financing of political organisations. The commission set a September 15 deadline for the response.

Matjošaitytė, who became a VRK member in May 2025, did not publicly declare her consultations with Nemuno Aušra. She initially declined to say whether she had been paid, but later said she had earned no money. She has refused to comment on the details of her professional relationship with the party, citing attorney-client secrecy.

Matjošaitytė has said she did not face a conflict of interest when the commission considered issues related to Nemuno Aušra. She said she no longer provides consultations to political organisations after returning to the VRK.

Puchovičius, the party’s deputy chairman, has confirmed that Nemuno Aušra communicated with Matjošaitytė. Party leader Remigijus Žemaitaitis described the links between the party and Matjošaitytė discussed in the media as absurd.

Matjošaitytė chaired the VRK from 2017 to 2021. She returned as a commission member after her candidacy was put forward by then-Justice Minister Rimantas Mockus, who had been delegated by Nemuno Aušra.

In May 2025, the newly formed commission considered alleged political campaign financing violations by Nemuno Aušra. Matjošaitytė voted that the party had committed violations in some cases and abstained in others. She said those votes did not create a conflict of interest or grounds for recusal.