The old Seym finishes its work and the New coalition is being made.

The Seym of 2008-2012 closed its work with ceremonial-working session yesterday. On the other hand, ruling coalition conducts negotiations about joining them EAPL.

Deputies voted through the act which gives the right to cancel the results of elections in Biržai – Kupiškis first-pass-the-post-voting region of Lithuania before they before their goodbyes. Also, the old Seym was trying to take away five seats form Poles who won those seats through the elections

Moreover, deputies started the voting about acceptance of the results in multimandatory voting system which will give the right to take away three seats from Labour party. It is said that those seats were cauterized with distribution of the electoral law. Arrangements like this were made by constitutional Court on Saturday. The verdict was supposed to be realized by the resolution of the Seym. The day before the project of the resolution was denied during the second voting. Social-democrats stated that they had been wrongly informed by the lawyers and that’s why they voted against.

They have promised to repair their mistake by proposing again the project. They fulfilled their promise yesterday. The passage was not so easy to be voted through because off the deputies of new ruling coalition. This coalition is going to be the minor opposition in two days in the new Seym. The deputies of the conservative party – Związku Ojczyzny-Chrześcijańscy Demokraci Litwy did not said nicely and without any criticism about the victorious party of social-democrats whose leader Algirdas Butkevičius may become new prime – minister.

According to deputy Algirdas Butkevičius who is conservatist, behavior of the social-democrats who first vote against the Seym’s resolution and then they are bringing again the same resolution into the Seym May show the work of the next government and the prime-minister.
During the discussion about the resolution of the results of voting EAPL got in the neck. Opponent of EAPL- the leader of nationalistic group Związek Narodowców deputy – Gintaras Songaila tried to delete new deputies of EAPL from the list. In the view of Songail the list of the EAPL party where it had the leaders of Alians Rosjan and Partia Ludowa should be treated as a coalition list. And it means that it obtained by seven percent of threshold, which is right for the coalition.

EAPL got almost six percent of the votes which was enough to pass out the threshold of five percent threshold for the parties. Formally, the EAPL gave a place on its list to the representatives from other groups. However, Songail was not able to get round the Seym. Only eleven deputies voted for that proposition. Deputies who voted for were mainly from the liberal conservatives – centralists and non-union deputies.

Leaders of the future coalition are negotiating with the EAPL since few days. The fact that EAPL will join the coalition was said by the leaders of Social-democrats, Labour Party and the Law and the Order. In turn, Waldemar Tomaszewski said to the ‘Kurier’ that there were closer to joining the coalition. The Program’s rules of the joining the coalition by EAPL were agreed on Tuesday. As it was informed EAPL, agreed the program’s propositions which included: transition to the biofuel, increment in financing the local roads, increments of the minimal wage up to 1200 lits, finishing the swing of the land to the rightful owners, continuation of the work on the laws about the native minorities.

During the second part of the negotiations it was conversed about the rules of work of EAPL in the future government and in the Seym. The “ Kurier” got the information that those negotiations will be continued today as well.  Preliminary accord sees the ability for EAPL of having one ministry and two seats of the vice – ministers. The coalition members are not telling us which if the departments will be for EAPL. From the suggestion of the leader of Labour Party seems that Poles might get one of the five departments whish was earlier given to that party: agriculture, power, culture, science and education or work and social care. Wiktor Uspaskich said yesterday that he could not tell which department is for EAPL but for sure Labour Party would have four departments.

In the Seym it is suggested that EAPL might count for the department of Power. However, yesterday’s speech of Wiktor Uspaskich  about being the best candidate for the minister of power shows that Labour party is not giving up the ministry so easy. EAPL cannot gamble for the education and the science ministry too because it was descoped by Algirdas Butkevičius. The negotiations might be about the departments of agriculture, culture or work and social care.

Source: http://kurierwilenski.lt/2012/11/14/stary-sejm-konczy-prace-tworzy-sie-nowa-koalicja/

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