Marijampolė mayor loses mandate after conviction in expense fraud case

The Central Electoral Commission of Lithuania on Thursday unanimously revoked the mandate of Marijampolė Mayor Povilas Isoda following his conviction in the so-called “čekiukų” (receipts) case, as reported by BNS and LRT.

An appeals court last week found Isoda guilty of submitting 37 falsified expense reports and receipts between 2019 and 2023, misrepresenting fuel, phone, and internet costs while serving as a municipal council member and mayor. The court ruled this was a deliberate attempt to obtain reimbursements, not a human error, and sentenced him to a €10,000 fine and a three-year ban from holding public office or running in elections.

Under electoral law, a conviction requires the immediate revocation of a mayor’s mandate. Isoda has stated he disagrees with the ruling and plans to appeal.

The municipal council will decide on an interim mayor next Monday. According to local government law, the council will appoint one of its members to serve temporarily. With less than a year until the next municipal elections, no early mayoral election will be held, and the interim mayor will serve until the scheduled vote in early 2027.

Isoda had led Marijampolė district since 2019. He previously claimed the receipts in question may have been mistakenly taken from a pool of colleagues’ expenses at the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party office.