Opposition collects signatures for Constitutional Court appeal over government legitimacy

The opposition Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) and the Liberal Movement factions in the Seimas have collected the required 29 signatures to file an appeal with the Constitutional Court (KT) regarding the legitimacy of Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius’ government, ELTA reports.

The opposition requests the Constitutional Court to rule that the Seimas resolution approving the government program of the 21st government, led by Sinkevičius, violates several articles of the Constitution, as well as the principles of the rule of law and accountable governance. They also ask the Court to assess the compliance of Article 194 of the Seimas Statute with the Constitution due to a legal regulation gap.

According to a TS-LKD press release, the appeal highlights a “chronological absurdity”: the 21st government’s program was registered with the Seimas Secretariat on July 3, 2026, under the name of “the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, appointed Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius.” However, President Gitanas Nausėda only signed the decree confirming the government’s composition on July 7, meaning the constitutional procedure for submitting the program began in the name of a government that did not yet exist.

The initiators also question the legality of the subject that registered the program, as the then-mayor of Jonava, Sinkevičius, allegedly had no authority to register a government program. They argue that the Seimas Statute lacks clarity on which entities can register a government program, creating a legal loophole.

In response, the ruling Social Democrats announced they would collect signatures for their own appeal to the Constitutional Court regarding the approval process of the 18th government’s program under former Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė in 2020. The LSDP seeks clarification on whether the Seimas can begin the procedure for approving a government program before the presidential decree on its composition takes effect.

The discussion gained public attention after Vilnius University law professor Egidijus Kūris noted that Sinkevičius, then newly appointed as prime minister, submitted the government program before the cabinet’s confirmation. The program was registered in the Seimas on July 3, while the presidential decree was signed on July 6.

Sinkevičius has stated that the government program was presented to the Seimas only after the president signed the decree. The current ruling coalition consists of the LSDP, the Democratic Union “For Lithuania,” and the Lithuanian Farmers, Greens, and Christian Families Union factions.