Lithuania
Lithuania performs in the high range in Representation and Rights, and exhibits mid-range performance in Rule of Law and Participation of the Global State of Democracy (GSoD) framework. It falls amongst the top 25 per cent of performers at the global level in nearly all factors, except for Civic Engagement and Electoral Participation. Between 2018-2023, Lithuania has registered notable improvements in Economic Equality and no significant declines. Lithuania is a high-income economy with a robust services sector, though faces labour shortages due to high levels of emigration.
Lithuania was established in 1236, after local fiefdoms were united under Grand Duke Mindaugas. The country has been occupied by foreign powers for much of the past century, and experienced repression under the Russian empire until the end of World War I, and later by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Lithuania declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. The country has a relatively ethnically homogenous population, with national minorities including 6.4 per cent Poles and 5.1 per cent ethnic Russians. Despite overall political stability, trust in political parties remains low in Lithuania and there have been instances of political corruption, including a case which culminated in the impeachment of its president in 2004, as well as a 2023 municipal expenses scandal. These factors have contributed to growing voter apathy, and the country has seen consistently low voter turnout in recent elections.
Due to Lithuania’s geographical position bordering Russia and Belarus, political debate is often coloured by national security concerns. The country has been under strain from what the Foreign Ministry has termed the weaponization of migration by Belarus, prompting the Lithuanian government to tighten border security and erect a border fence. Against a background of social fragmentation, Lithuania struggles to accommodate migrants and fewer Lithuanians consider active promotion of immigrant integration to be necessary compared to EU averages. The Lithuanian government has also enacted tougher migration measures, including controversial 2023 amendments legalizing migrant “pushbacks” - a policy determined to be unlawful by the EU Court of Justice in June 2022. Unlike other Baltic states, the Church retains a high level of influence in Lithuania, and as much as four-fifths of the population is Roman Catholic. Religious authorities have been vocal in resisting the legal recognition of same-sex partnerships. Lithuania defines marriages as between a man and a woman in its Constitution.
Nevertheless, Lithuania has consistently been a high performer in Gender Equality. The emergence of Lithuania’s first female-led government and increasing women’s representation at the ministerial level in recent years have been notable. However, the gender pay gap remains a pronounced challenge, as well as gaps in labour force participation and bank account ownership between men and women.
Going forward, it will be important to watch how the government addresses concerns about migration with potential impacts on Rights. Particular attention should be paid to recent legislative amendments to protect the freedom of movement of migrants in accommodation facilities, as well as a class action law suit filed by migrants against Lithuania in 2024. It will also be important to observe a government proposal to strip people deemed a threat to national security of their Lithuanian citizenship for possible impacts on Rights. At the same time, it will be critical to monitor the fight for marriage equality, as Parliament considers proposals to recognise same-sex civil unions. Absence of Corruption should be watched closely, especially as the Council of Europe’s corruption monitoring body has noted recent steps to prevent corruption in law enforcement agencies.
Last updated: September 2024
https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/
May 2024
Incumbent wins presidential elections and referendum on citizenship fails
On 26 May, the incumbent President Gitanas Nausėda (Independent) was re-elected for a second five-year term in a run-off against Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė of the centre-right Homeland Union party (Tėvynės sąjunga-Lietuvos krikščionys demokratai). Nausėda, a former economist at a multinational bank, won the presidential elections in a landslide with 74.2 per cent of the vote. Šimonytė came second with 24.3 per cent, and was the only female among the total eight presidential candidates. The voter turnout in the run-off was 49.7 per cent, whereas in the first round of voting on 12 May it stood at nearly 60 per cent. The two candidates also faced each other in a run-off in the 2019 presidential elections.
In a referendum held on 12 May parallel to the elections, a constitutional amendment to allow Lithuanians to hold dual citizenship failed to pass. Though 74.5 per cent of those who voted approved the change, voter turnout was not sufficiently high to meet the constitutional requirement that at least half of the total Lithuanian electorate must agree. Voter turnout in the referendum was 59.5 per cent.
Sources: VRK (1), VRK (2), LRT (1), LRT (2), Al Jazeera, Euractiv, ConstitutionNet
April 2024
Parliament votes to expand legal recognition of occupation-era exiles
On 18 April, Parliament passed amendments to the law on the legal status of victims of the occupations between 1939-1990. According to the law, the Genocide and Resistance Research Center, under the oversight of the Ministry of Social Security and Labour, is responsible for issuing legal status certificates to people repressed for political reasons, political prisoners, exiles and people displaced under the occupation regimes of Nazi Germany and later the Soviet Union. The amendments expand the grounds for the families of former political prisoners and exiles to be recognized as victims of the occupation, making around 400 additional people eligible to receive state support, including an additional state pension for victims on top of their regular social insurance pension.
Sources: Lietuvos Respublikos Seimas, Jurbarkas, Teises Aktu Registras, LRT, Ministry of Social Security and Labour
Parliament approves report investigating whistleblower allegations
Parliament voted to approve the findings of a temporary parliamentary inquiry commission, which determined the State Security Department (VSD) aided the 2019 election campaign of President Gitanas Nausėda by gathering intelligence on Nausėda’s team members, election staff and supporters. The findings were approved with 64 votes in favour and 44 against. The commission was established in October 2023 to investigate a whistleblower report by a former VSD employee. The inquiry further found Nausėda obstructed the Parliament from carrying out its functions by refusing to testify and found state authorities, including the VSD and the General Prosecutor’s Office, failed to adequately protect the whistleblower’s identity. Nausėda has said that the parliamentary inquiry was designed to discredit him ahead of the May Presidential elections. The report contains proposals for election financing and the protection of whistleblowers’ rights.
Sources: Delfi (1), Delfi (2), Delfi (3), Seimas (1), Seimas (2), LRT (1), LRT (2)
December 2023
Parliament approves changes to accommodation of asylum seekers
Parliament adopted amendments to the procedure for accommodating asylum seekers with 72 votes in favour, four against and 20 abstentions. In June 2023, the Constitutional Court annulled provisions specifying that asylum seekers should be held in temporary accommodation facilities, without the right to move freely within Lithuania, pending a decision on their asylum application. The amendments seek to address the concerns raised in the ruling, by providing that the individual circumstances of asylum seekers must be considered in the decision for accommodation. The changes specify that the right to free movement cannot be restricted, except for in certain circumstances, to be evaluated on an individual basis, but never for a period exceeding 28 days. The amendments provide for the possibility of appeal within 14 days of receiving the accommodation decision and specify conditions for temporary departures from the accommodation territory.
Sources: Seimas, Register of Legal Acts (1), Register of Legal Acts (2), Constitutional Court, International IDEA
October 2023
Parliament approves mandatory disclosure of past party membership
Parliament voted to approve electoral amendments introducing the requirement for candidates to disclose whether they were formerly members of the Communist Party (CPSU), which was banned after Lithuania regained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Previously, reporting of past political affiliations via the Central Electoral Commission’s candidate questionnaire had been optional. The amendments passed with 110 votes in favour and one abstention, and follow revelations uncovered by media that President Gitanas Nausėda and at least 18 sitting MPs had formerly been members of the party without reporting this affiliation. Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė called failure to disclose previous affiliations a “mistake”, and observers noted potential adverse impacts on public trust. A parallel proposal, put forward by the conservative Homeland Union party, was rejected, and would have required candidates to declare their Communist Party membership on campaign posters.
Sources: LRT (1), LRT (2), LRT (3), Baltic News Network, 15min
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