Breakaway Vilnius district faction seeks seats on oversight bodies

A faction that split from the Lithuanian Polish Electoral Action–Christian Families Alliance (LLRA-KŠS) is seeking greater influence in Vilnius district municipality, while other opposition councillors and the party’s partners see the move as pre-election manoeuvring and a breach of democracy, LRT reported, citing BNS.

The self-declared opposition faction Stop Corruption has submitted draft decisions seeking changes to the municipality’s Control Committee, Anti-Corruption Commission and Ethics Commission. The proposals would add two to six of its members to the bodies.

The Control Committee would grow from six members to eight, with Waldemar Urbanas and Iwona Kazakiewicz proposed as new members. The Anti-Corruption Commission would increase from seven to 10, adding Tadeusz Andrzejewski, Iwona Kazakiewicz and Renata Sobieska. The Ethics Commission would grow from seven members to 10, with some current members replaced and Kristina Boroško, Miroslava Klim, Honorata Romanovska, Zbignev Sinkevičius, Stanislava Zajankovska and Zigmontas Ždanovičius included in the proposed membership.

The faction is not proposing replacements on the Control Committee or Anti-Corruption Commission, only the addition of its representatives. It has not proposed chairs for the Anti-Corruption or Ethics commissions. Robertas Rackiewiczius, the faction’s deputy leader, told BNS that it may nominate its leader, Renata Sobieska, to head the Control Committee.

Rackiewiczius accused the opposition Center-Right Coalition, made up of conservatives, liberals and a representative of the Freedom Party, of failing to act on issues including the district’s bus fleet. He said Stop Corruption would support any proposal it considered beneficial to residents, regardless of whether it came from social democrats or conservatives.

He also questioned why the Anti-Corruption Commission is chaired by Rūta Carik, a member of the governing majority’s Social Democratic faction, arguing that the opposition should lead it.

Gediminas Kazėnas, head of the Center-Right Coalition faction, called Stop Corruption a governing-majority attempt to “play democracy” by splitting the LLRA-KŠS and registering part of it as the opposition. He said the faction could gain positions reserved for the opposition under the Local Self-Government Law.

Kazėnas said the proposed changes to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption commissions were especially significant because several investigations concerning LLRA-KŠS had begun in the Ethics Commission. He suggested the changes could derail those inquiries and allow political opponents to be targeted before the next elections. He rejected cooperation with Stop Corruption, saying its members remained part of the same party.

Martynas Motuzas, leader of the Social Democratic faction, a partner in the governing LLRA-KŠS majority, also said the newly declared opposition faction was seeking to take over opposition powers as it prepared for next year’s municipal elections.