VILNIUS - Parliament on April 13 adopted amendments to the Law on President that would regulate the organization of early presidential elections. Specifically, lawmakers want the central election commission to recommend that a president removed from office not seek the post of head of state.
The amendment, proposed by Conservative MP Vytautas Landsbergis, also obliges the central election commission to warn a person ousted from office for severely violating the constitution and oath of office that violations committed by him provide for "permanent basis for launching impeachment process at any time."
Upon removing Rolandas Paksas from the office of president for harshly violating the constitution and oath of office last week, Parliament must organize presidential elections within two months.
Paksas has not yet decided whether he would run for president again, but the leadership of the pro-Paksas Liberal Democratic Party and the radical Lithuanian Freedom Union have urged him to participate in the elections.
Liberal Democratic faction elder Henrikas Zukauskas has labeled the changes to presidential elections anticonstitutional and urged Parliament "not to play dirty tricks."
Parliament also passed other amendments to the Law on President that regulate the organization of early elections for the first time in Lithuanian history.
Parliament struck down the proposal to increase the cash deposit for presidential candidates from 5 average monthly salaries (currently 1,208 litas, or 350 euros) to 10 average monthly salaries.
Conservative MP Jurgis Razma, who has proposed an even bigger cash deposit - up to 20 average monthly salaries - expressed regrets that Parliament failed to prevent persons seeking "possibilities to use advertisements for free" from running for president.
