MPs ask ethics panel to review delay over family referendum
Monday 26th October 2026 on 10:45 in
Lithuania
Several Lithuanian MPs have asked parliament’s Ethics and Procedures Commission to examine an alleged delay in considering an advisory referendum on the constitutional definition of family, LRT reported.
The MPs also want the commission to assess the actions and inaction of Julius Sabatauskas, chair of parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs and Law Enforcement, and determine whether there are signs of a possible conflict between public and private interests.
In early April, parliament approved for further consideration an initiative by 63 MPs to hold an advisory referendum on the concept of family set out in Article 38 of the Constitution. The committee received expert opinions from Vytautas Magnus University, Vilnius University and Mykolas Romeris University, but has not yet discussed the issue at a meeting.
In September, MPs urged Sabatauskas to provide the opinions to committee members, put the referendum proposal on the agenda of the next meeting and ensure it was considered on time. Hearings were then scheduled for October 1, but their cancellation was announced on the eve of the meeting.
“When parliament approves an initiative for further consideration and the responsible committee leaves it off its agenda for months, gives no explanation and eventually cancels a scheduled discussion, this is no longer just a procedural problem,” MP Audronius Ažubalis said in a statement. He said the situation showed disrespect for voters, MPs’ mandates and the citizens they represent.
The MPs said the required procedures must be completed by December 7 for parliament to decide whether to call the referendum. They asked the commission to determine why the proposal has not been discussed and why the planned hearings were cancelled, and to assess whether the process has been improperly delayed.
The signatories said they were not claiming that a conflict of interest existed, but wanted to establish whether the committee chair’s decisions were based on objective procedural grounds and whether he had ensured an impartial parliamentary process. The request was signed by Ažubalis, Vytautas Sinica and Ligita Girskienė.