MPs seek to reduce party influence over Lithuania’s election commission

Lithuania’s parliament failed to secure enough votes to dismiss Laura Matjošaitytė from the Central Electoral Commission, prompting renewed calls to reduce political parties’ influence over the body, LRT reported. Some MPs say parties should appoint no commissioners or only a small share, though even the proposal’s supporters doubt changes will pass soon.

The president, the justice minister and the Lithuanian Lawyers’ Society each appoint two commission members. Political parties appoint half of the members, while parliament appoints the chair on the speaker’s recommendation. MPs also noted that the justice minister is a politician, usually affiliated with a party, meaning political ties among commissioners are not limited to party appointees.

During Tuesday’s debate on Matjošaitytė’s dismissal, MP Ignas Vėgėlė said he had previously proposed barring party-appointed commissioners from deciding complaints involving the party that nominated them. He said parliament rejected the amendment when it considered the Election Code, with votes against it from both the governing parties and the opposition.

Vėgėlė also said the Special Investigation Service had declined to open an investigation into Matjošaitytė but had identified risks in the commission’s work. He said the service had warned that commissioners appointed by, or connected to, a party might vote in ways that hinder or avoid decisions on issues significant to that party.

Vėgėlė argued that the issue should be addressed through systemic changes to the Election Code rather than by focusing on one commissioner. He said party-appointed members should not take part in decisions concerning the political groups that nominated them.

Liberal Movement MP Eugenijus Gentvilas told LRT he supported making the commission less political. He said a similar approach could be applied to the Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT’s council: political parties appoint four of its 12 members and the president appoints four, which he said was not desirable.