EAPL’s several legislative proposals: continuation of commenced work and a beginning of new works

Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania representative in Sejm, Rita Tamašunienė submitted the

21st  project  of  proposed  legislative  changes  composed  by  EAPL Members  of  Parliament  for

review by the Sejm in autumn. Some parts of the project make up for a continuation of works

that were  already  started  by  the  party  in  question whilst  others  intend  to  give  rise  to  new

works in favour of Lithuania’s citizens. During this autumn’s parliament session EAPL MPs will

make attempts  to approve  legislative  initiatives  they have  started earlier. The will,  inter alia,

solicit  for  the  approval  of  the Act  on Protection  of Ante-natal Life  and  the  increase  of  funds

allocated to looking after local roads. We remind that the two aforementioned draft acts were

approved during the first vote.

Propositions  related  to  amending  the  Lithuanian  law  to  conform  to  OSCE

recommendations

EAPL’s  legislative  proposals  regarding  the  Representation  of  the  People  Act,  inter  alia,  the

proposition  to  lower  the  threshold  for  national minority  and  regional  parties  to  3%,  aim  to

modify  the  Lithuanian  law  so  that  it  conforms  to  the  recommendations made  by  the  OSCE

representatives  who  on  multiple  occasions  highlighted  the  importance  of  lowering  the

aforementioned threshold.

Pursuit of electoral cards in minority languages

In its latest report on Lithuania, the OSCE apart from making recommendations regarding the

electoral  threshold highlighted  that  in order  to  improve  the ease of access  to  information  for

persons unable  to  speak Lithuanian,  it  is necessary  to  translate  the  contents of  voting  cards

into minority languages in electoral districts where at least 10% of the population are minority

representatives.  Aiming  to  increase  the  scope  of  use  of  minority  languages  in  political

campaigns,  EAPL  plans  to  submit  their  proposed  legislative  changes  for  review  during  the

upcoming parliament session.

Putting an end to the blameworthy tradition of sudden changes in elections

Legislative  proposals  submitted  by  EAPL  representatives  also  plan  to  discontinue  a

blameworthy  possibility  of  amending  the  voting  system  shortly  before  elections,  which  is

unacceptable  in  a  democratic  state.  According  to  two  international  documents,  that  is,  the

OSCE’s  report on Lithuania and  included  recommendations and  the Code of Good Practice  in

Electoral Matters adopted in 2002 by the Venice Commission, MPs propose that the legislative

changes in question be introduced a year before elections, at the latest.

Attempts to finish off the process of returning land

Due to EAPL’s requests, this autumn MPs will once more review the issue of returning land in

towns and cities to their rightful owners. Draft legislation on the matter was already proposed

in  2007  by MP Waldemar  Tomaszewski.  The  project was  however  rejected  by  the  Sejm  in

2008. Now however  the project has been resubmitted by  the  leader and deputy  leader of  the

EAPL fraction, Rita Tamašunienė and Wanda Krawczonok.

EAPL proposes that land in towns and cities that was leased to private companies and that was

in  accordance with  current  regulations  not  returned  to  the  rightful  owners,  be  returned  to

them. Should  this go ahead, business owners will be  forced  to  sign  lease  contracts with  land 30th of September 2013

owners  rather  than  the  state,  or  alternatively  would  have  to  buy  the  land  off.  Similar

procedures already take place in countryside settlements and villages.

According  to  the  date  provided  by  the  National  Agricultural  Service  of  the  Ministry  of

Agriculture, as per  the 1st

 of  January 2013, 12,000  land owners still await  the return of  their

land of which  the aggregated  size  comes up  to 8.1 ha of built-up  land, what means  that only

79% of  citizens have had  their  land  returned  to  them. The  same  score  stands at 99%  in  the

countryside and only at about 40% in Vilnius.

As can be seen, the range of legislative initiatives shown by EAPL MPs is diverse and very wide

indeed.

Source: http://www.wilnoteka.lt/pl/artykul/kilkadziesiat-propozycji-legislacyjnych-awpl-kontynuacja-prac-rozpoczetych-zapoczatkowanie-n

Tłumaczenie by Kamil Łukasz Szwarc w ramach praktyk w Europejskiej Fundacji Praw Człowieka, www.efhr.eu. Translated by Kamil Łukasz Szwarc within the framework of a traineeship programme of the European Foundation of Human Rights, www.efhr.eu.