Lithuanian prime minister calls Vilnius district council dispute an artificial game

Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius says loopholes in the rules allow municipal politicians to declare themselves opposition members while effectively voting with the ruling side. He called the situation in Vilnius district an “artificial game” that discredits local government and legal logic, LRT reported.

The dispute followed the creation of a second faction by council members elected on the Lithuanian Polish Electoral Action–Christian Families Alliance (LLRA-KŠS) list. After declaring itself an opposition faction, it took the opposition posts, including the role of opposition leader. Politicians associated with LLRA-KŠS now hold those positions.

Sinkevičius said the situation exposed shortcomings in the Local Self-Government Law and that he had discussed reviewing the law with Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas. “Those who were on one side now rename themselves and become the opposition, and therefore claim certain positions,” he said.

At the initiative of the newly declared opposition faction Stop Corruption, the membership of the Control Committee and the Anti-Corruption and Ethics commissions was changed. The law assigns these positions to the opposition. The decisions were passed with votes from LLRA-KŠS and Stop Corruption members. LLRA-KŠS leader and European Parliament member Waldemar Tomaszewski observed the process.

Asked whether he would raise the issue with Tomaszewski, a coalition partner, Sinkevičius said the municipality should first resolve the matter itself. If it could not, he said, a discussion could follow. He also mentioned direct rule as an extreme option, adding that he was speaking “half-seriously, half-jokingly”.

The Vilnius district council has 31 members: nine each from LLRA-KŠS and Stop Corruption, seven Social Democrats and six members of a centre-right coalition comprising the Freedom Party, the Liberal Movement and the Homeland Union–Lithuanian Christian Democrats.

Nine members split from the governing LLRA-KŠS faction in late October to form Stop Corruption. The centre-right coalition’s faction leader, Gediminas Kazėnas, told BNS that the split was artificial and that the two factions had signed a cooperation agreement. Political opponents link the move to local elections scheduled for next March.