Lithuanian president vetoes Electoral Code

VILNIUS - Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda on Friday vetoed the new Electoral Code recently adopted by the country's parliament, the Seimas, and tightening the activities of election committees.

The head of state is sending the bill back to the parliament with a proposal to add a provision that the requirement for political committees to be registered no later than 180 days before the election date would not apply to the 2023 municipal council and mayoral elections, the presidential press service said.

The president believes that to ensure the right of political committees to participate in the 2023 municipal council and mayoral elections, it's necessary to introduce an exception that would allow political committees registered at least 85 days before the election date to partake in these elections.

Speaking with BNS, Stasys Sedbaras, chairman of the parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs, welcomed the presidential veto only regarding next year's elections, and that all the other restrictions for political committees, introduced by lawmakers, were accepted.

"In principle, this regulation of election committees is new, and we had a long discussion, and if the president had no problems with hat, that's very good. And speaking of those days, we will see if we can agree on everything," Sedbaras told BNS on Friday.

Adopted by the Seimas in late June, the Electoral Code brings together all election-related laws into one piece of legislation and sets requirements for political committees that are similar to those for political parties.

Under the new rules, political committees that can put forward lists of candidates for municipal and European Parliament elections will have to be established as legal entities at least six months before the elections.

New direct mayoral and municipal elections in Lithuania will take place in February or March next year.