Lithuanian Science Council selects candidates for national broadcaster’s governing board

The Lithuanian Science Council has ranked its three candidates for the Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) governing board, with ISM University of Management and Economics prorector Vita Akstinaite securing the top position, public broadcaster LRT reports.

According to LRT.lt, the council assigned second place to Kaunas University of Technology professor Andrius Jurelionis and third to Vytautas Magnus University political science lecturer Ignas Kalpokas. The full list of selected candidates will be officially announced once the Seimas (parliament) approves Juozas Augutis as the council’s interim chair.

The ranking ensures that if the top candidate declines, the next in line can be delegated to the LRT board. The Science Council declined to comment on the selection process. Nine candidates in total met the criteria for the position.

The LRT governing board, currently composed of 12 members, is set to renew one-third of its membership on May 19. The president and parliament each appoint four members (with parliament’s picks split between ruling and opposition factions), while the Science Council, Education Council, Creators’ Association, and Bishops’ Conference each delegate one representative.

Parliament is currently debating controversial amendments to the LRT law, which would expand the board to 15 members by adding representatives from the National Coalition of Non-Governmental Organisations, the Lithuanian Communities’ Organisation Union, and the Lithuanian Disability Organisations’ Forum.