Lithuania may strip voting rights from Russian, Belarusian residents

Lithuania’s opposition Conservative Party has proposed constitutional amendments that would deny residents from Russia and Belarus who live permanently in the country the right to vote and stand for election in municipal councils.

“We propose to restrict or prohibit citizens of countries outside the European Union and NATO from participating in municipal council and mayoral elections,”  Caliber.Az quotes Laurynas Kasčiūnas, chairman of the Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats, as saying at a press conference in the Seimas.

Kasčiūnas noted that similar restrictions are in place in Latvia and Estonia. Conservative MP Dalia Asanavičiūtė-Gružauskienė argued that the amendments are necessary due to Russia’s interference in EU elections and its influence on results, particularly amid a growing population of Russian and Belarusian residents in Lithuania.

The conservatives have drafted amendments to the Constitution and the Electoral Code and collected signatures from 36 parliamentarians to submit the proposal to the Seimas. “We cannot ignore the current geopolitical situation; we believe the security of our state comes first,” a parliamentarian said.

Under the proposed law, permanent residents eligible to vote for municipal councils and mayors would be Lithuanian citizens or individuals from countries meeting European and transatlantic integration criteria defined by Lithuania, who hold permanent residency in the country.

The amendments would also specify that Lithuanian citizens and permanent municipal residents from countries meeting these criteria may be elected as mayors and municipal council members.

Currently, all permanent residents of a municipality can vote and run in local elections, and foreigners with permanent residency registered in a municipality are recognised as its permanent residents.

By Jeyhun Aghazada