Sabatauskas rejects claims he is delaying family referendum debate

Lithuanian parliamentary committee chairman Julius Sabatauskas has rejected accusations that he is delaying consideration of an advisory referendum on the definition of family, LRT reported. The committee is expected to hold hearings on November 16, and Sabatauskas says he will step aside from the issue.

“It is likely that the committee will hold hearings on November 16; what happens next will depend on how the discussions go,” Sabatauskas told the ELTA news agency on Thursday.

Last week, Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union leader Aurelijus Veryga said his party’s vote on the budget would be strongly influenced by how the referendum proposal progresses in parliament. He accused Sabatauskas of deliberately delaying its consideration and suggested the chairman had a personal interest in keeping it off the parliamentary agenda because his daughter lives with a same-sex partner. Veryga also said Sabatauskas should recuse himself.

Sabatauskas said he did not believe there was a conflict of public and private interests, but would withdraw from further consideration because of the concerns raised. His deputy, Vitalijus Gailius, will chair the proceedings.

Parliament approved the referendum initiative in principle in April. It was proposed by 63 lawmakers and concerns the definition of family in Article 38 of the Constitution. The committee has received expert opinions from Vytautas Magnus University, Vilnius University and Mykolas Romeris University, but has not yet considered the issue at a meeting.

In September, lawmakers urged Sabatauskas to share the expert opinions with committee members, put the matter on the agenda and ensure it was considered in time. Hearings had been scheduled for October 1 but were cancelled on the eve of the planned meeting. The lawmakers’ appeal said the necessary procedures had to be completed by December 7 for parliament to decide whether to call the advisory referendum.

Sabatauskas said the committee’s workload was heavy, with 200 to 220 of more than 1,100 bills scheduled for consideration assigned to it. He called the Farmers and Greens’ effort to link the referendum issue to the budget vote “blackmail,” noting that an advisory referendum would have no binding consequences.

Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said on Thursday that the coalition partners’ demand was unacceptable. He said he had discussed the matter with the coalition council and assured the Farmers and Greens that the referendum proposal would not be delayed in parliament. Parliamentary Speaker Juozas Olekas said this week that the timing was not right for the initiative.

In March, a group of lawmakers registered a resolution proposing an advisory referendum on the constitutional definition of family to be held alongside the 2027 municipal council and mayoral elections.