Court rejects Kelmė deputy mayor’s bid to delay military service

Lithuania’s Regional Administrative Court has ruled that Kelmė Deputy Mayor Tadas Kasparas cannot postpone compulsory military service because of his office, LRT reported. The court also rejected his request to refer the case to the Constitutional Court.

Kasparas had argued that his service could disrupt the continuity of municipal functions and sought to delay it until May 2027. He also said being called up would make it difficult to repay a consumer loan.

The military service authorities and the Ministry of National Defence said Kasparas had been granted individual arrangements: he can complete the nine-month service over three years, with many activities scheduled for weekends. He turned 26 this summer, making this his final year in which he can be called up on the basis of age.

The court said a mayor and a deputy mayor cannot be treated alike because the mayor chooses the deputy and can appoint someone else. It found the military authorities’ decisions lawful and dismissed Kasparas’s claims as unfounded.

Kasparas can appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court. Asked whether he would do so, he told LRT by text message: “I will do everything necessary for the state. Just remember that the homeland begins with local government.”