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Before examining the issue, N.Venckienė stated that he wanted to remove Laura Matjošaitytė, president of the CEC, as she had previously expressed her position that she could not participate in the elections.
N.Venckienė also wanted to remove the CEC representatives from the Liberal Movement, the Conservative and Social Democratic parties, as these parties in parliament launched an indictment against her. The CEC members unanimously decided that L. Matjošaitytė and other CEC members did not need to resign.
N.Venckienė stated that the explanations given by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the case of the ousted president Rolandas Paksas should be valid for his case that Lithuania had violated the European Convention on Human Rights by prohibiting him from being elected as a member of parliament. In 2011, a court in Strasbourg ruled that a lifetime ban on elections was disproportionate.
Photo by Sigismund Gedvila / 15min / Neringa Venckiene
It is prohibited to run for persons expelled by impeachment on the basis of the Constitutional Court’s interpretation that such a person cannot hold a position for which a constitutional oath is necessary. According to the court, such a provision can only be modified by amending the Constitution.
But N. Venckienė argued that there is no prohibition in Lithuanian law to run after impeachment, therefore, it is not necessary to change anything in the law, because the Constitutional Court should not interpret decisions contrary to what was previously decided by the ECHR.
“I have full right to be registered as a candidate for the members of the Seimas,” said N. Venckienė.
“Can the Constitutional Court interpret against the decision of the European Court of Human Rights?” He asked the members of the CEC.
However, L. Matjošaitytė stated that the CEC cannot directly apply the decision of the Strasbourg court, so it is based on the interpretation of the Constitutional Court and according to this, there is a total prohibition to run for office after it is has carried out the impeachment.
The CEC members emphasized that the interpretations of the ECHR only oblige legislators to clarify regulations that may not be in line with the Human Rights Convention.
“As this has not been done so far, the CEC has no choice but to apply the current part of the Elections Act to the Seimas, which stipulates that a person who has been removed from office or the mandate of a Seimas member shall not she can be elected as a member of the Seimas indefinitely – quite simply, ”said CEC member Tauras Rutkūnas.
In 2014, the Seimas revoked the mandate of N. Venckienė, a representative of the “Path of Courage”. The Constitutional Court held that N. Venckien<2FEMININE> had broken her oath and had seriously violated the Constitution by not attending parliamentary sessions for more than half a year.
A person who has been removed from office or the mandate of a member of the Seimas has been revoked cannot be elected a member of the Seimas, the situation is quite simple, said CEC member T. Rutkūnas.
N.Venckienė fled to the United States due to accusations by prosecutors for the non-execution of the court decision to transfer the daughter to the mother and the abuse of the rights of the girl’s representative.
She was returned to Lithuania last year and the Panevėžys Regional Court is currently examining a case involving four criminal offenses.
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