Lithuania - November 2024

On 11 November, the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania signed a coalition agreement including the Nemunas Dawn party, which placed third in the October parliamentary elections. In April, the Constitutional Court found the Nemunas Dawn party’s leader, Remigijus Žemaitaitis, violated the Constitution over antisemitic public statements. He resigned from Parliament in April rather than face an impeachment vote and is currently being investigated for inciting hatred against Jewish people. Thousands of people demonstrated in Vilnius, calling for zero tolerance to antisemitism. In parallel, 30 civil society organisations signed an open letter calling for Nemunas Dawn to be left out of the new coalition, initiated by the European Movement and the Lithuanian Center for Human Rights.  

Sources: International IDEA, LRT (1), LRT (2), Reuters, JURIST, Constitutional Court