The chairwoman of Estonia’s Political Party Funding Supervision Committee (ERJK), Liisa Oviir, has criticised the lack of progress on proposed amendments to the law on political parties, ERR reports. The amendments would expand the committee’s powers to supervise the financing of non-party organisations affiliated with political parties. Despite assurances from previous ministers of justice that…
The congress of Lithuania’s liberal Freedom Party has elected former MP Tomas Vytautas Raskevicius as the party’s new chairman, BNS reports. Raskevicius replaces Ausrine Armonaite, who resigned after the party failed to win any seats in the recent elections to the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas. Raskevicius chaired the parliament’s human rights committee in 2020-2024. Freedom…
The Estonian Centre Party (Keskerakond) may wait until some time in 2025 to decide which political group to join in the European Parliament, the party’s chairman, Mihhail Kõlvart, announced, ERR reports. He said that the party would not rush the decision. In the previous parliament, Keskerakond was a member of the Renew Europe/ALDE group but…
The leader of Lithuania’s far-right Dawn of Nemunas party, Remigijus Zemaitaitis, announced that his party was likely to nominate Virginijus Kulikauskas, former head of the Lithuanian Prison Service, to the position of justice minister, ELTA reports. Earlier, former justice minister, lawyer Gintautas Bartkus declined the party’s nomination to the ministerial post. Meanwhile, President Gitanas Nauseda…
Two of the biggest groups in the European Parliament, the European People’s Party (EPP) and Renew Europe, have urged the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) and the Union of Democrats for Lithuania (DSVL) to exclude the far-right Dawn of Nemunas party from their incoming coalition government, LRT reports. EPP and Renew Europe warned that granting…
Lithuania’s main opposition party, the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania (LSDP), scored a big victory after the second round of parliamentary elections on 27 October 2024, LRT reports. Altogether eight parties and two independent candidates won seats in the 141-member parliament, the Seimas. LSDP managed to win as many as 52 seats, which is up…
Lithuania’s main opposition party, the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania (LSDP), hopes to form a new coalition government with two other opposition parties, the Union of Democrats for Lithuania (DSVL) and the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union (LVZS), LRT reports. The three parties won 33 out of 70 seats in the first round of parliamentary…
Estonian parties disagree on proposed amendments to suspend the voting rights of third-country nationals, including Russian citizens, ERR reports. The Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, has approved the amendments in first reading with support from the ruling coalition’s Estonian Reform Party and Estonia 200 as well as the opposition’s Fatherland (Isamaa) and Conservative People’s Party of…
Six parties cleared the electoral threshold in the first round of elections to the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, on 13 October 2024, LRT reports. The first round saw altogether 70 MPs elected through party lists, including 18 for the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania (LSDP), 17 for Homeland Union, 14 for the Dawn of Nemunas,…