Balčytytė expects Olekas to act if Matjošaitytė findings are adverse

Conservative MP Giedrė Balčytytė expects Lithuanian parliament Speaker Juozas Olekas to initiate further action concerning Electoral Commission member Laura Matjošaitytė if investigations into her conduct produce adverse findings, LRT reported.

The Central Electoral Commission and the Chief Official Ethics Commission are investigating Matjošaitytė. A disciplinary committee of the Lithuanian Bar Association completed its inquiry on Wednesday but has yet to decide whether to open a disciplinary case.

Olekas said this week that parliament could return to the matter once the investigations conclude. Balčytytė told ELTA that the speaker had said he would wait for the findings before deciding on further steps.

Parliament this week rejected a motion of no confidence in Matjošaitytė, who was absent from the debate. Forty-five MPs voted for the motion and 61 against.

Balčytytė, who proposed the motion, said she believed the governing Lithuanian Social Democratic Party wanted Matjošaitytė to remain on the commission. She argued that the vote risked weakening public institutions and lowering standards for officials’ reputation, impartiality and honesty.

Questions about Matjošaitytė’s conduct followed reports by the Delfi news portal that she may have advised the Nemunas Dawn party and helped draft a response to the electoral commission. Matjošaitytė has said she was not paid for any consultations and that the issues raised concerned work from before she joined the commission.

Delfi reported that in September 2024, more than a month before parliamentary elections, Matjošaitytė sent party vice-chair Robertas Puchovičius a draft response to the commission and asked him to transfer it into his own Word document so her metadata would not remain. The commission later said metadata showed she had drafted the party’s response to questions about membership fees.

Matjošaitytė chaired the commission from 2017 to 2021 and returned as a member in 2025.