What happens if a coronavirus lands or sends part of the Seimas into isolation? The new government has a plan

The Seimas of the new legislature will begin its work in the heat of the second wave of coronavirus.

The new parliamentarians will meet for the first plenary session this Friday, November 13.

If several current Seimas members have COVID-19 or have had to isolate themselves, future governors are considering how to organize their work if more MPs cannot physically participate in Seimas sessions.

The Statute of the Seimas establishes that the laws and resolutions of Parliament are adopted by voting in the electronic voting system.

If the chairman of the meeting so decides, you can vote by raising your hand.

Professor Vytautas Sinkevičius from Mykolas Romeris University (MRU), a scholar of constitutional law, believes that the Constitution does not prohibit the provision of such regulation in the Statute of the Seimas that it would be possible to hold remote parliamentary sessions and vote remotely.

Must work continuously

Gabrielius Landsbergis, chairman of the Lithuanian National Union-Christian Democrats (TS-LKD), which will hold the most seats in the Seimas, says that it is the constitutional responsibility of the Seimas leadership to ensure that parliament can function smoothly and without interruptions in all circumstances.

If the epidemiological situation worsens and there are more and more parliamentarians: regardless of the opposition or position, they fall ill with coronavirus and are forced to isolate themselves, the work of one of the government branches, the Seimas, should not be paralyzed as a result. Therefore, as is the case in other western countries and in the European Parliament, it is necessary to be prepared for the possibility that some parliamentarians also work remotely, ”he said.

Therefore, as is the case in other Western countries and in the European Parliament, some parliamentarians must be able to work remotely.

At the same time, G. Landsbergis emphasized that it is very important that democratic procedures do not suffer as a result.

“The rights of the opposition cannot be restricted in any way and this must comply with the Constitution and the laws of Lithuania,” said the conservative leader.

It will not be possible without distance voting

Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, the candidate for the post of Spokesperson of the Seimas, Spokesperson of the Liberal Movement, believes that the question of the possibility of organizing the work of parliament and remotely should inevitably be considered.

“Because without a pandemic wave, we can simply find ourselves in a situation where too many members of the Seimas will have to isolate themselves and there will be no opportunity to make the necessary decisions. How to vote on the budget. It is unequivocal, yes, this conversation and this discussion must to happen, basically it is already happening and we must find technical solutions to ensure the uninterrupted work of the Seimas, regardless of the circumstances ”, he explained.

According to V. Čmilytė-Nielsen, in other countries there are various models and formats of how parliaments work during a coronavirus pandemic.

According to her, proper IT solutions are needed so that parliamentarians can attend meetings remotely.

In addition, as the candidate of the Liberal Movement for the Presidency of Seimas mentioned, there is a model in which fewer parliamentarians belonging to both the position and the opposition attend the parliamentary session.

Have fewer people in the House at the same time.

But I think that we are still not going to do without the possibility of validating and concluding the vote from a distance. Simply because the risk is too great that people will not be able to go to work physically if they fall into self-isolation or become ill, ”said V.Čmilytė-Nielsen.

I believe that we still cannot do without the legitimacy of distance voting.

How to ensure safety?

Ramūnas Karbauskis, chairman of the largest opposition party in the new Seimas del Seimas, the Union of Greens and Peasants of Lithuania (LVŽS), sees no reason to change parliamentary procedure differently than has been done before.

He recalled that in the spring for some time the members of the Seimas met in the plenary hall of parliament just to vote.

“Only those who had to present themselves were present at the presentations, others were able to see that part of the meeting on television and on the Internet. It is not much that we imagine how to do it differently. Voting, making non-contact decisions, we just can’t imagine, we don’t understand how it would happen. If the new majority intends to change something, if it has enough votes, it will be able to change ”, said the leader of LVŽS.

Vote, make non-contact decisions, we just can’t imagine, we don’t understand how it would happen.

R. Karbauskis emphasized that in Lithuania for several years there has been no consensus on online voting during elections.

Such a possibility is not valid because, according to him, it is impossible to guarantee the security of such a vote.

According to the president of LVŽS, although there are some technical possibilities to guarantee a secure vote of 141 parliamentarians, the pandemic is not a reason to change the procedure for passing laws.

He recalled that during previous Seimas periods, parliamentarians were also accused of voting for colleagues and the like.

“How can you guarantee when you don’t see a person, if it’s the same person, if you asked your son or wife, or someone to press a button for you? You can’t check. How to imagine this? What, is there some kind of inspector sitting around and seeing if the same Seimas member is verifying his ID on the screen? It is in the history of the Seimas that the members of the Seimas were also removed to vote for others. Do you understand where the biggest problem is? How to ensure that the person presses that button, that their will is not affected in any way and everything else? ”- pointed out the“ peasant ”.

R. Karbauskis is not afraid that the work of the Seimas could be interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

He stressed that the necessary security measures were observed at the Seimas as much as possible.

Indicated the essential requirements

Counsel V. Sinkevičius is of the opinion that the Constitution does not prohibit the provision of such a regulation in the Statute of the Seimas in the sense that it would be possible to hold parliamentary sessions from a distance and to vote from a distance.

However, this requires modifying the Statute of the Seimas.

“Those amendments must meet several of those essential requirements. That only Seimas himself can decide when to hold a remote session. Such a decision cannot be determined by any resolution of the Government, nor by the President or similar. If exceptional circumstances such as illness arise very dangerous communicable, other cases can be special, some kind of natural disaster or similar, when the Seimas cannot meet physically ”, explained the MRU professor.

According to V. Sinkevičius, other requirements should also be established.

Suppose the Seimas could work remotely if many MPs were ill or in contact with people infected with COVID-19, who would not be able to leave certain premises and physically enter the parliament building as a result.

“In that case, the Seimas Board could call sessions. But I would like to make one more demand that those meetings be called when necessary to pass without delay the necessary laws to deal with that special situation. Do not call a remote meeting or similar and pass those simple and routine laws that can wait. But there may be situations such that, after all, it is necessary to adopt a legal act, it is necessary to carry out some act of parliamentary control or similar “, emphasized the expert in constitutional law.

Such meetings could be convened when necessary to pass without delay the laws necessary to deal with that particular situation.

V. Sinkevičius considered that the Seimas Board should make a decision on each remote session separately each time.

It is said, for example, that Parliament will not sit remotely for a whole month.

“It just came to our attention then. Even if it is a session or remote voting, or something else, all members of the Seimas must be able to exercise all the rights provided in the Statute of the Seimas. It will not be a full-blown meeting, “said the lawyer.

V. Sinkevičius emphasized that the technical aspect is very important: to be able to determine if the parliamentarians are actually participating in the remote session of the Seimas, or if other people do not use their data and login cards.

“I imagine that all the members of the Seimas who participate in the sessions must be visible on the screen. And it is very important to be able to identify if a member of the Seimas really voted or if they really voted that way. If all of those circumstances were present, I wouldn’t see major problems with distance voting. But first of all, the Statute must be changed ”, said the MRU professor.