It is proposed to download the poster of requirements for holding a referendum – Respublika.lt

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Mindaugas Puidokas, a member of the Labor Party faction of the Seimas. Photo of Elta

“Now a referendum can be called if 300 thousand voters demand it, although Lithuania’s population has decreased by almost one million since 1992.

I call on everyone in Lithuania to strive to reduce the number of signatures required to call a referendum to 100,000 signatures or 5%. of all eligible voters. For a referendum to be recognized, it should be sufficient for more than a quarter of all Lithuanian voters to participate in it. It should be possible to change the decisions of the Nation adopted by referendum only in another referendum ”, says M. Puidokas.

According to him, the Constitution declares that “the most important matters in the life of the State and the Nation will be decided by referendum”, but so far the most important resolutions have been adopted exclusively by the members of the Seimas and the Government.

“It just came to our notice then. It deprives the Nation of its sovereign rights, because often only 71 members of the Seimas can make decisions that are of special importance for the development of society, which are not acceptable to the majority of Lithuanians. It is obvious that the ruling majority does not listen at all to the state of mind and opinion of society, nor to the proposals or objections of the opposition ”, says M. Puidokas.

In his view, a clear loophole is now forming. “The Minister of Justice has not drawn up a new constitutional referendum law, and the previous one will expire on July 1 due to the decision of the Constitutional Court. I invite you to take other important legal measures and taking into account the significant decrease in the population of Lithuania, to reduce the barriers necessary for holding a referendum ”, says M. Puidokas.

According to him, the people in Lithuania want a more direct democracy and it is only possible through a referendum. “It is necessary to make changes so that society becomes involved in the governance of the state and feels the true owner of its country. In communicating with civilians and representatives of public organizations, I was faced with the desire and proposal to hold a referendum, which would actually restore constitutional rights and allow the governance of the state and the resolution of the most important problems to return to the Lithuanian people. This is only possible by reducing the number of signatures required to call a referendum ”, says the parliamentarian.

According to M. Puidokas, the Labor Party he represents defends that the concept of family enshrined in the Constitution, called the marriage of a man and a woman, is inviolable and can only be modified by referendum and not by a decision of the members of the Seimas.

The politician hopes that the President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, all the opposition parties and governments will respect the Constitution and the desire of the people to express their opinion. “The European Union also advocates for the greatest possible participation of the population in the democratic process. Let us fight for that too,” calls the parliamentarian.