Info
Parties and Candidates
PC001
Registration requirements for parties (Chamber 1)
Question: What are the registration requirements for political parties running for national elections (Chamber 1)?
Answer(s):
b . Deposit requirement (specify amount) e . Minimum number of candidates f . Other
Comments:
Law on Political Parties:
Article 8. Registration of political parties
1. Political parties shall be registered in the Register of Legal Entities.
2. The regulations of the Register of Legal Entities shall enumerate the documents which must be submitted for registering a political party in and removing its entry from the Register, lay down the procedure for registering a political party in and removing its entry from the Register, recording changes in data and amendments of the statute of the political party
Law on the Elections to the Seimas:
Article 37:
(2) In the multi-member constituency parties shall nominate their candidates by presenting a list of candidates in which candidates are recorded in the succession established by the party. Unless the statutes of a party provide otherwise, candidates in single-member constituencies and the list of the candidates, recorded in succession, in the multi-member constituency must be approved at the congress or conference of the party. The list of candidates (joint list) must not include less than 25 and more than 141 candidates.
Article 41:
(1) The election deposit for one candidate for Seimas member to be registered in a single-member constituency shall be equal to one most recently announced average monthly wage of the national economy (AMW). When registering one new candidate in a single-member constituency instead of the candidate whose application documents have been revoked or who has revoked the documents himself, the required deposit shall be in the amount of one AMW.
(2) The election deposit for registration of one list of candidates for Seimas member in the multi-member constituency shall be in the amount of ten AMWs. When changing the place of one candidate on the list or entering a new candidate on the list, the deposit shall be in the amount of one AMW. When joining the candidates’ lists, the deposit shall be in the amount of 0.3 AMW for each list which is being joined.
(3) Election deposits for registration of a list of candidates shall be doubled for the party which at the last elections to the Seimas, municipal councils or the European Parliament nominated candidates or the list (lists) of candidates and did not furnish a copy of the report on the funding of the respective political campaign in compliance with the Law on Funding of, and Control Over Funding of, Political Campaigns and the sets of the previous calendar year’s financial statements of the political party in compliance with the Law on Political Parties.
Source: Republic of Lithuania, Law on the Elections to the Seimas (9 July 1992, as last amended on 22 March 2016 – No XII-2265), art. 37(2), 41(1-3)
https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/89e6d1a0f58111e5bf4ee4a6d3cdb874?jfwid=tu0odnkka
Republic of Lithuania, Law on Political Parties (25 September 1990, No I-606, As last amended on 6 November 2014,No XII-1292)
https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/09450a307a1c11e4a8a7b07c53dc637c?jfwid=rivwzvpvg
Verified: 2020/06/05
PC003
Registration requirements for candidates (Chamber 1)
Question: What are the legal qualifications to become a candidate at legislative elections (Chamber 1)?
Answer(s):
a . Age b . Citizenship d . Residence f . Registration
Comments: Article 2:
(2) Any citizen of the Republic of Lithuania who is not under allegiance to a foreign state and is at least 25 years of age on the election day, and who permanently resides in Lithuania may stand for election as a member of the Seimas. A citizen of the Republic of Lithuania shall be considered to be a permanent resident of the Republic of Lithuania, whose data about a place of residence are entered into the Residents’ Register of the Republic of Lithuania, or a citizen who, under the Civil Code, is recognised as having a permanent place of residence in the Republic of Lithuania.
Source: Republic of Lithuania, Law on the Elections to the Seimas (9 July 1992, as last amended on 22 March 2016 – No XII-2265), art. 2 (2)
https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/89e6d1a0f58111e5bf4ee4a6d3cdb874?jfwid=tu0odnkka
Verified: 2020/06/05
PC008
Independent candidates
Question: Can independent candidates compete in presidential or legislative elections?
Answer(s):
e . In both presidential and legislative elections
Comments: Law on Elections to the Seimas:
Article 37:
(1) Candidates for Seimas member may be nominated:
1. in the multi-member constituency and single-member constituencies – by the party which is registered pursuant to the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Political Parties (hereinafter: ‘the Law on Political Parties’) not later than 185 days prior to an election, meets the requirements regarding the number of party members as laid down in the Law on Political Parties and does not have the legal status of the party in respect of which the liquidation has been initiated or the legal status of the party placed under liquidation
2. in a single-member constituency - by every citizen of the Republic of Lithuania who qualifies to be elected as a Seimas member, may declare himself to a candidate for Seimas member, provided his candidature is supported by signatures of no less than 1,000 voters of that constituency. If a party does not nominate a list of candidates, a candidate nominated by the party must be supported in a single-member constituency by the signatures of at least 1,000 voters of that constituency.
(2) In the multi-member constituency parties shall nominate their candidates by presenting a list of candidates in which candidates are recorded in the succession established by the party. Unless the statutes of a party provide otherwise, candidates in single-member constituencies and the list of the candidates, recorded in succession, in the multi-member constituency must be approved at the congress or conference of the party. The list of candidates (joint list) must not include less than 25 and more than 141 candidates.
Law on Presidential Elections
Article 35:
(1) Individual persons may nominate themselves for President of the Republic.
Source: Republic of Lithuania, Law on the Elections to the Seimas (9 July 1992, as last amended on 22 March 2016 – No XII-2265), art. 37(1-2)
https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/89e6d1a0f58111e5bf4ee4a6d3cdb874?jfwid=tu0odnkka
Republic of Lithuania, Law on Presidential Elections (22 December 1992, as last amended on 6 November 2012 – No XI-2334), art. 35 (1)
http://aceproject.org/ero-en/regions/europe/LT/republic-of-lithuania-law-on-presidential-1/at_download/file
Verified: 2020/06/05
PC012
Public funding of parties
Question: Do political parties receive direct/indirect public funding?
Answer(s):
b . Direct c . Indirect
Comments: Article 7: (1) Political campaigns of political parties shall be financed exclusively from the following sources:
1. Political campaigns of political parties shall be financed exclusively from the following sources:
1) funds of the political party received from the sources of funding of the political party and used to finance political campaigns of the party, candidates and lists of candidates of the party;
2) donations for political campaign to the political party during the political campaign period, given by natural persons who under this Law have the right to donate;
3) during the political campaign, loans received by a political party from banks registered in the Republic of Lithuania or another European Union Member State or a branch of a bank registered in the European Economic Area and operating in the Republic of Lithuania;
4) interest on the funds kept in the political campaign account
7:(2) Political parties must keep funds designated to finance a political campaign in the political campaign account. The political campaign account shall not be subject to any interim measures.
7:(3) It shall be prohibited to finance political campaigns of political parties with the funds which are not specified in this Article.
Article 51: 1. After the announcement of the names of candidates and lists of candidates by the Central Electoral Commission, the candidates shall be granted the right to use the Lithuanian national radio and television free of charge. The rules for preparing programs for election campaign shall be approved and the actual duration and time of the Lithuanian national radio and television programs shall be established by the Central Electoral Commission after consultation with the head of the Lithuanian national radio and television. The Central Electoral Commission shall also distribute the time of the programs in such a manner that the following principles of equality are preserved: among the lists of candidates in the multi-member constituency; among single-member constituencies; among candidates in a single-member constituency.
2. Discussions of candidates over the radio and television shall be financed with funds of the state budget from the appropriations allocated for the Central Electoral Commission.
Source: Republic of Lithuania, Law on Funding of, and Control over Funding of, Political Parties and Political Campaigns (23 August 2004, as last amended on 16 October 2014 No XII-1251), art. 7, 14, 15 (1)
https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/a05f32b2b4c411e3b2cee015b961c954?jfwid=rivwzvpvg
Republic of Lithuania, Law on the Elections to the Seimas (9 July 1992, as last amended on 22 March 2016 – No XII-2265), art. 51 (1-2)
http://aceproject.org/ero-en/regions/europe/LT/republic-of-lithuania-law-on-elections-to-the-1/at_download/file
Verified: 2020/06/05
PC015
Question: What is the basis of the public funding?
Answer(s):
b . Based on result of previous election
Comments:
Source: Republic of Lithuania, Law on Funding of, and Control over Funding of, Political Parties and Political Campaigns (23 August 2004, as last amended on 26 November 2013 No XII-2428), art. 9
https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/a05f32b2b4c411e3b2cee015b961c954?jfwid=rivwzvpvg
Verified: 2020/06/05
PC017
Question: Are political parties entitled to private funding?
Answer:
a . Yes
Comments: Article 7: 3. Permanent sources of funding of political campaign:
1) membership fees of the political party;
2) state budget appropriations;
3) state budget appropriations allocated in accordance with separate programmes
approved by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania;
4) funds received by the political party from its other activities referred to in Article 13 of
this Law;
5) donations of natural and legal persons who under this Law have the right to donate;
6) loans for the political party by the banks registered in the Republic of Lithuania;
7) interest on the funds kept in the bank account.
Source: Republic of Lithuania, Law on Funding of, and Control over Funding of, Political Parties and Political Campaigns (23 August 2004, as last amended on 16 October 2014 No XII-1251), art. 7, 10-12
https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/a05f32b2b4c411e3b2cee015b961c954?jfwid=rivwzvpvg
Verified: 2020/06/05
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