Liberal Movement fields mayoral candidates in 41 municipalities

Lithuania’s opposition Liberal Movement has selected mayoral candidates in 41 of the country’s 60 municipalities, including politicians named in so-called “cheque” cases involving municipal expense claims, LRT reported on Saturday.

Incumbent mayors seeking re-election include Gediminas Ratkevičius in Elektrėnai, Audrius Klišonis in Plungė district and Nijolė Guobienė in Zarasai district. Current deputy mayors Astra Korsakienė and Indrė Stalnionienė will seek the Biržai district and Joniškis district mayoral posts, respectively.

Member of parliament Simonas Gentvilas will run for mayor of Vilnius, Simonas Kairys for mayor of Kaunas, and fellow MP Viktoras Pranckietis for mayor of Kaunas district. Former MP Juozas Baublys will seek to replace Varėna district Mayor Algis Kašėta, who is not running for re-election. In Raseiniai district, the party has nominated former State Security Department official Tomas Gailius, who was a whistleblower in a scandal that previously shook the agency.

Two other incumbents seeking re-election, Trakai district Mayor Andrius Šatevičius and Kaišiadorys district Mayor Šarūnas Čėsna, are involved in the expense cases and have suspended their party membership while proceedings continue. Earlier in October, law enforcement authorities charged Šatevičius with causing the municipality more than 5,000 euros in property damage. Authorities allege he improperly claimed compensation for fuel and mobile phone costs. He denies wrongdoing and says he raised concerns about expense documents himself, well before the authorities brought charges.

Čėsna was convicted in June of unlawfully misappropriating 4,400 euros. He denies guilt and has appealed to the Lithuanian Court of Appeal. The party has also nominated Tauragė district Mayor Dovydas Kaminskas and Pagėgiai Mayor Vaidas Bendaravičius. After admitting to unlawfully appropriating municipal funds, both were released from criminal liability under suretyship in the cases this year.

The party’s council lists will run in 49 municipalities, although it will not nominate mayoral candidates in some of them. Party chair Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen said candidates were the party’s link to local communities and could draw on their knowledge of local needs and residents’ trust.

The Liberal Movement also approved its municipal election programme, which promises to give residents a greater role in local decisions and allocate part of municipal budgets through local communities. Proposals include building modern shelters, developing public transport and making it free where possible, and investing more in cycle paths, renewable energy and renovation.

In education, the party says it will expand non-formal education funding and the Culture Passport, reduce bureaucracy and help municipalities prepare for a threshold-based assessment of tenth-grade students’ achievements due to take effect in 2029. The programme also promises to strengthen preventive healthcare and distribute medical professionals more evenly among municipalities.