Election commission ends Druskininkai mayor’s powers after conviction

Lithuania’s Central Electoral Commission terminated the powers of Druskininkai Mayor Ričardas Malinauskas on Thursday after his conviction in a corruption case, LRT reported.

The commission declared his mandate terminated before its scheduled expiry, citing a final conviction by the Lithuanian Court of Appeal.

Because less than a year remains until the next regular municipal council and mayoral elections, no by-election will be held in Druskininkai, commission chair Lina Petronienė said. A temporary mayor is expected to serve until next spring, with the Druskininkai Municipal Council due to decide on the appointment on Monday.

The commission also terminated the mandate of municipal council member Aivaras Kadziauskas, who was elected on the candidate list of the political committee For Druskininkai. Kadziauskas was convicted in the same case and fined 42,600 euros. Laura Gardziulevičienė is expected to take his seat.

Malinauskas remains convicted of influence peddling in the Vijūnėlė Manor case. He must pay a 60,000-euro fine, and a further 30,000 euros will be recovered from him.

Malinauskas has never admitted guilt and said after the final ruling that he did not respect the court’s decision. In court, he said he had never negotiated with Kadziauskas or anyone else about giving money or bribing someone, arguing that all payments were for legal services.

However, judges at the Lithuanian Court of Appeal said Malinauskas and Kadziauskas were rightly convicted of influence peddling. The court said there was extensive evidence of their guilt, including secretly recorded conversations by the Special Investigation Service about arranging money payments for influence over a judge in the Vijūnėlė Manor case.