Lithuanian opposition questions legality of new government formation

The Lithuanian opposition has submitted a request to the Constitutional Court to determine whether the formation of Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius’ government was lawful, LRT reports.

The question arose because the presidential decree appointing the government was published several days after the government’s programme was registered in the Seimas (parliament).

Giedrė Balčytytė, a member of the Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) faction, said: “We ask to clarify whether the process that was organised now was timely and whether it complies with the Constitution.”

The government’s programme was registered three days before the president signed the decree appointing the ministers. Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, the elder of the Liberal Movement faction, noted: “At that time, there was no government yet; the future ministers were meeting with the president, and selections were being made from several candidates.”

Social Democrat Orinta Leiputė, elder of the LSDP faction, argued that the submission of the programme to the Seimas took place in the parliament’s hall after the decree was signed and the ministers were appointed. “This is verbal acrobatics—everyone understands perfectly well that the submission begins with registration,” countered Raimondas Šukys of the “Nemuno aušra” faction.

The opposition also asks the court to clarify who should have registered the programme, as Sinkevičius was still the mayor of Jonava at the time and allegedly could not do so. “Any member of the Seimas, say, even I could register some government programme, even though there is neither a government nor one that would implement it,” Balčytytė commented.

Coalition partners agree that the Constitution was not followed in approving the government’s programme. Agnė Širinskienė, elder of the “For Lithuania” democratic faction, said: “Our social democratic colleagues have an extraordinary talent for creating problems in a flat place.” Leiputė responded: “The most important thing is work, not looking at which way the wind is blowing.”

However, coalition partners will not support the conservatives’ appeal. “I think the opposition will do that work, so I’ll let them do it,” Širinskienė stated.

The Social Democrats claim they rushed to register the programme to ensure a faster change of government. The new government’s programme was prepared quickly because it was largely an updated version of the previous one. “The new government started with enthusiasm, wanting no pauses and ensuring continuity of work,” Leiputė assured.

The opposition has a different explanation: “It was no longer so easy to gather Seimas members in the middle of summer, so the social democrats hurried,” Čmilytė-Nielsen said.

In response, the Social Democrats have also turned to the Constitutional Court, questioning the legality of the formation of the already dissolved government of Ingrida Šimonytė. “It’s already a bit like table tennis or field tennis,” Šukys remarked. Leiputė added: “The aim is to have an objective clarification from the Constitutional Court. Since such practices have occurred before, we cited the 18th government as an example.”

Six years ago, Šimonytė’s government programme was registered on the same day, albeit one and a half hours before the presidential decree on the ministers. “At least it was on the same day, and it was a matter of hours,” Šukys noted.

A ruling from the Constitutional Court may take up to a year.