Court upholds finding that Uspaskich report was political advertising

Lithuania’s Regional Administrative Court has upheld the Central Electoral Commission’s finding that a KK2 television report about Viktoras Uspaskichas was political advertising, while ruling that its production and broadcast costs should not be counted as Labour Party campaign expenses. LRT reported the decision on Thursday.

The court said the report promoted interest in Uspaskichas and presented him as a politician. He led the Peace Coalition, which included the Labour Party, in the 2024 parliamentary election. The report was filmed in mid-September but broadcast on October 2, 11 days before the election.

The report discussed Uspaskichas’s personal qualities, lifestyle and interests, including his relationship with his children, meditation and diet. The court said this material encouraged voter interest in him during the election campaign. It added that images of children and references to them helped reinforce a positive image of the politician.

Uspaskichas and the Labour Party had asked the court to overturn the commission’s finding that the report was covert political advertising. Uspaskichas said he had neither paid for nor commissioned the report. He also argued that it included negative information about him, including references to pre-trial investigations. The court found that the brief references to problematic information were overshadowed by the report’s presentation of his advantages and positive images.

However, the court agreed with the party that the costs of producing and broadcasting the report should not be assigned to its 2024 election campaign expenses.

The commission issued its decision in April last year. The Peace Coalition received 2.2% of the vote in the parliamentary election and won no seats. The court’s decision can be appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania.