Lithuanian presidency supports right to test public opinion via advisory referendum

The Lithuanian presidency supports the right to gauge public opinion on contentious issues through advisory referendums, a senior advisor to President Gitanas Nausėda said Tuesday, though it has not yet clarified the president’s stance on a proposed vote to redefine the constitutional concept of family.

Vaidas Augustinavičius, the president’s chief advisor on economic and social policy, told Žinių Radijas that the broad parliamentary backing for the referendum initiative—supported by 50 lawmakers—demonstrates its relevance to a significant portion of voters.

“If some believe it meaningful to consult society on a particular issue, and in this case 50 members of parliament voted to submit this resolution, then such a right undoubtedly exists,” Augustinavičius said. “Testing a question via an advisory referendum is a democratic right.”

He noted that Switzerland regularly holds multiple referendums annually without facing criticism for overuse, contrasting this with skepticism toward similar initiatives in Lithuania.

When asked whether Nausėda would support altering the constitutional definition of family—which currently states that marriage is a union between a man and a woman—Augustinavičius said the president has consistently defended Article 38 of the Constitution but would address potential amendments once the exact referendum question is finalised. Legal experts are still reviewing the draft wording, which proposes enshrining in the Constitution that family relations arise only from marriage between a man and a woman, as well as from motherhood and fatherhood.

The advisor also defended a second proposed advisory referendum on guaranteeing the right to pay in cash, arguing that restrictions on cash transactions could expand the shadow economy. That vote would ask whether the Constitution should explicitly protect the right to settle payments in physical currency.

Under Lithuanian law, a referendum proposal requires support from at least one-quarter of parliamentarians. For an advisory referendum to be considered valid, more than half of eligible voters must participate. The potential votes would coincide with municipal elections in early 2027.