„Local elections are approaching; there’s less than a year left. It will be difficult to organise the elections without funds in the account,“ he told LRT television on Thursday.
On Thursday, the Central Election Commission (CEC) decided not to award Nemuno Aušra a six-month grant of more than 240,000 euros, as it had been found to have committed a gross violation of the law.
As previously reported, the CEC decided on the gross violation last week.
Susiję straipsniai
The Commission found that Nemuno Aušra violated the procedures of the Financial Accounting Act when it transferred nearly 50,000 euros to Žemaitaitis and Petkevičienė for their car rentals. It is noted that state budget appropriations were thus used for purposes other than those intended, and the data presented in the financial statements were incorrect.
ELTA notes that in early February, the civic initiative Viešpirkiai announced a car rental contract signed by Nemuno Aušra on January 17, 2024, worth 31,500 euros. It was valid until November 13 of the same year, but was only made public on January 29 of this year. The contract shows that the buyer is Nemuno Aušra and that the supplier is the party leader, Žemaitaitis.
LSDP leader on Nausėda’s statement regarding a coalition with Nemuno Aušra: we hear him, we will evaluate his position
After President Gitanas Nausėda stated that, since some representatives of the Nemuno Aušra party in the Seimas voted against the Kapčiamiestis military training ground bill, the ruling parties should seek alternatives to the current composition of the ruling coalition, Mindaugas Sinkevičius, leader of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP), says he will evaluate the president’s position.
„We certainly hear the president; we will evaluate his position,“ he told LRT television on Thursday.
It was previously reported that, according to Sinkevičius, the ruling majority's work will be evaluated at the LSDP council meeting in mid-April.
On Thursday, the Social Democratic leader asserted that since the coalition partners did not support the Kapčiamiestis Training Ground bill, this issue is more serious.
„The Kapčiamiestis Training Ground issue is already weighing heavily on me, so to speak, and it no longer seems like some trivial matter,“ Sinkevičius explained to LRT television.
After some members of the Nemuno Aušra faction voted against the draft law on the Kapčiamiestis training ground, the president stated in an interview with TV3 on Wednesday that he believes the Social Democrats should look for alternatives to the current coalition’s composition. Furthermore, in the president’s view, there are alternatives to the party led by Remigijus Žemaitaitis.
Meanwhile, Seimas Speaker and Social Democrat Juozas Olekas stated that in this situation, one cannot rely solely on the president’s opinion. The speaker of Parliament emphasised that various opinions are under consideration and that decisions will be made later.
According to him, there are currently no better options for the ruling coalition.
The coalition council will meet next week
The coalition council meeting scheduled for next week is expected to discuss the coalition partners’ vote against the Kapčiamiestis military training ground.
Among those who voted against were seven members of the Nemuno Aušra faction: Aidas Gedvilas, Daiva Petkevičienė, Tomas Domarkas, Remigijus Žemaitaitis, Vytautas Jucius, Petras Dargis, and Mantas Poškus.
Also, three representatives of the Lithuanian Peasants, Greens, and Christian Families Union faction—Valius Ąžuolas, Rimas Jonas Jankūnas, and Ignas Vėgėlė.
Lina Šukytė-Korsakė of the Aušra party, Saulius Bucevičius, Kęstutis Bilius, Karolis Neimantas, and Democrat Linas Urmanavičius abstained.