[ad_1]
For this reason, the opposition demands that the right-wing ruling coalition, in parallel to the reforms to the country’s Basic Law, draft a Local Autonomy Law, which clearly defines the powers of the mayor.
Opposition leader Saulius Skvernelis assures that otherwise the 94 votes necessary for the reform of the Constitution would not be obtained in parliament, which would mean that in 2023. Direct elections to the mayor would no longer be possible in the next municipal elections . Some MPs were unhappy with the rejection on Tuesday of a draft drawn up by the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) faction, which in addition to legitimizing direct mayoral elections, also proposes a clear definition of the powers of mayors. Algirdas Sys, the eldest of this faction, claims that the rulers have failed to fulfill the promise to support both projects at the presentation stage, so he also warns the Speaker of the Seimas that the rulers cannot collect the 94 votes required to amend the Law. Fundamental. .
The draft amendment to the Constitution, initiated by the President of Parliament Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, which would legalize the direct election of mayors without defining the powers of the mayor and the relationship with the municipal council, received 120 parliamentary support, one member of the Seimas voted against and two abstained.
At that time, the project initiated by the LSDP faction was rejected, which in addition to the method of elections, also proposed to define the functions of a directly elected mayor, establishing his status as president of the municipal council and head of the municipality. by majority of those who failed with 59 votes in favor, 3 in favor and 61 abstentions.
The results of the latest vote outraged opposition MPs, who say the ruling majority, despite an agreement to support both projects at the presentation stage, had betrayed them. S. Skvernelis, a member of the Lithuanian Green and Peasants Union (LVŽS) faction, assures that the opposition and ruling parties had agreed to support both projects at the presentation stage, and which proposal should be decided by the Seimas Committee Law and order (TTK).).
“It just came to our attention then. There was consensus that both projects would be approved after their presentation and discussions would continue in the TTK. The essential thing is not only to formally legitimize the direct election of mayors, but to legitimize a mayor who can really represent fully to society, to the community, ”S. Skvernelis told Eltai.
Meanwhile, A. Sysas, the leader of the LSDP faction, who drafted the amendments to the Constitution rejected by the Seimas, claims that the opposition representatives had agreed with V. Čmilyte-Nielsen that they would support each other in the projects in the presentation. stage.
“It was not written in any way, but correctly and amiably. We have met more than once and we suggest, we pressure the president and others that we have to move forward, present both projects, we support after the presentation, and as there will be after the committee, it will be another matter ”, A. Sysas assured Elta.
They expect a clear response from the rulers on the functions of the directly elected mayor.
Socdemas believes that the Seimas Spokesperson should not feel confident yet as the project presented by her has received sufficient support. According to A. Sys, the opposition will demand that the rulers, together with the amendments to the Constitution, draft a law that clearly defines the powers of the mayor.
“I think the president of Seimas is very happy that her project has received 120 votes, because there was consensus in her cabinet that both projects had to pass the presentation stage and will continue to be decided by the committees. But they all voted not as we said, so now we are going to demand that, together with the reforms to the Constitution, there be laws that clearly define what the mayor will be. If this is not the case, we will not support such a law, “said the politician.
The eldest of the LSDP faction believes that in order not to enshrine the functions of an elected mayor directly in the Constitution, they simply want to change the model of self-government for other laws and thus make the mayor only a representative of the executive. resigning his functions as president of the municipal council.
“We want to see how the functions of the mayor will be formulated. So we can only talk about the establishment of the method of direct election of mayors in the Constitution. Now they limit themselves to that record and then they think about making the mayor a caretaker. This option will definitely not disappear.” , A. Sysas did not hide his suspicions about the government plans.
Opposition leader says he distrusts those in power
S. Skvernelis shares the views of A. Sys, who also sees the desire of the rulers to change the relationship of the mayor’s power to the city council.
“The social democratic project is definitely much better in the sense that it defines very clearly, there are no interpretations of who the mayor is. We see goals of the Conservative Party to elect that mayor if you want, but he will only be the director of the administration ”, the opposition leader is convinced.
The peasant maintains that the opposition will demand that the rulers, before presenting amendments to the Constitution, also present a bill of local self-government, which would clearly establish the powers of the mayor.
“It just came to our notice then. When there is to be another vote, we will really want to see others, no longer amendments to the Constitution, where the drafts of who that mayor is are clearly established. If this is not the case, or if it is attempted If the mayor is a representative of the executive, the formal director of the administration, then I think that the opposition will not support such a proposal. Then there will be no direct mayoral elections, “said S. Skvernelis.
Without taking into account the demands of the opposition, the 94 votes necessary to reform the Constitution will not be obtained
The opposition leader maintains that for parliamentarians to be able to maintain the order of direct elections for mayors and obtain the 94 votes required in parliament, the rulers must take into account the demands of the opposition. Otherwise, he promises that the opposition will not support the project initiated by the president of Seimas.
“We see that there is an attempt to be more cunning, that there is no such confidence. We’ll see how it goes next. To get those 94 votes, we will really only try to vote when the bills are written, which actually say very clearly who the mayor is, ”said S. Skvernelis.
However, Sys did not hide the fact that even the adoption of a separate law defining the functions of the mayor would pose a greater risk to the stability of self-government, since a simple law would require far fewer votes than the amendments proposed by the LSDP and those of the mayor. powers in the Constitution.
“94 members of the Seimas need to change the Constitution. To change the law, it is enough that there are 71 votes present and 36 votes to pass the law. This difference is three times smaller. Consequently, it is relatively easy to change the law,” explained the major of the Social Democratic faction.
The politician said that he would do the will of his party and pointed out that the rulers will only be able to count on the support of the LSDP if the right-wing coalition continues to support the proposal of the Social Democrats or the governing bodies of the Social Democrats decide to change their position and tend to yield to the rulers.
“First we must implement the party’s decision. The party council’s decision was very clear: register amendments to the law so that the mayor is not only directly elected, but his functions are clearly defined. Until now, the decision of the highest body of the party, the Congress, has not been modified. Consequently, we will have to make another decision at the party level. If that other decision is to vote for the draft prepared by the conservatives, then we will do it, “said A. Sysas.
ELTA recalls that the need to reform the basic law of the country arose after April 19. The Constitutional Court has declared that the procedure for direct election of mayors is in conflict with article 119 of the Constitution. This question was addressed to the CC by 46 parliamentarians from the previous legislature, mostly conservatives, as well as by various liberals, “workers” and former “politicians.” This resolution will take effect in 2023. on May 3, which means that the current mayors will be able to serve until the end of their term.
In response to the decision of the CC, the president of the Seimas V. Čmilytė-Nielsen initiated a meeting of the elders of the Seimas factions, where the parliamentarians managed to reach an agreement on the amendment of article 119 of the Constitution in order to preserve the procedure for direct elections of mayors. The Seimas Spokesperson then stated that she looked forward to the presentation of the respective amendment already in this spring session and was optimistic about the possibility of collecting the necessary 94 supporting votes.
However, already in the second meeting of the elders of the group, in which the regulations of the procedure for the election of direct mayors were further discussed, the opinions of the parliamentarians differed to define the powers of the directly elected mayor. The president of the Seimas and the Conservatives then proposed that the mayor be considered the executive of the municipality, and the faction of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP), whose proposal was largely supported by the ruling Freedom Group, the Mixed Seimas, the model current.
For this reason, in search of a consensus, the president of the Seimas in mid-May spoke about the elaboration of a so-called compromise wording of article 119 of the Constitution, whose approval would preserve the direct elections of mayors. The president explained that it was proposed to introduce direct elections for mayors, but that the basic law of the country did not specify the relationship between the powers of the mayor and the council. Such a wording, according to V. Čmilytė-Nielsen, would be the least possible evil to obtain the 94 votes necessary to amend the Constitution. However, such a proposal in the opposition LSDP immediately raised questions about the stability of the institutions of self-government, so the latter brought a separate project to the Seimas, in which the powers of the mayor would be defined according to its proposed model.
