Roundup: Lithuanian voters' list approved for municipal elections

Lithuania's Central Electoral Commission (CEC) approved on Sunday the final voters' list for municipal elections which will take place on March 1, local media reported.

According to the list, about 2.5 million voters will have their mandate to elect members of local councils and mayors next Sunday.

More than 20,000 foreign citizens who have declared their permanent places of residence in Lithuania will have the right to vote in the upcoming elections, BNS news agency reported.

The CEC paid special attention in the meeting on Sunday to numerous cases of Lithuanian residents' re-registration of places of residence from one municipality to another before the local election starts, the occurrence which was especially noticeable in southern Alytus and capital Vilnius district, also mostly Polish and Russian speaking district Salcininkai.

Zenonas Vaigauskas, chairman of the CEC, suggested that possibly some political parties had been trying to persuade their followers to vote in another municipality than their own.

In a statement adopted by the CEC, voters are being encouraged not to vote against their will.

According to Lithuania's Constitution and the elucidation of the Constitutional Court, only people constantly residing in a specific municipality may vote here.

"There are clear signs of organized manipulation in the eve of elections," Dalia Grybauskaite, President of Lithuania, said on Friday after meeting with representatives of non-governmental watchdog organizations.

"It is a new anti-Constitutional phenomenon which distorts democratic elections," she added.

Grybauskaite urged the CEC to strictly assess each violation case so that there is no pretext to dispute the final voting results.

This year for the first time in Lithuania direct mayor elections will be held. Previously mayors were elected by municipal councils.

It is believed that the new electoral principle will have positive impact on the development of democracy in the country, increase responsibility of mayors and may stimulate a higher turnout in the municipal elections.

According to the latest opinion polls, 41 percent of voters expressed their confidence in local government, while in 2011 only 31 percent of voters were in favor.

A total of 1,524 members of local councils will be elected in the elections on March 1.

The largest municipal body of 51 members operates in capital Vilnius, the two smallest, with 15 members, in resort municipalities Birstonas and Neringa. There are 60 municipalities in Lithuania.

During previous Lithuanian municipal elections in 2011, more than 2.6 million of voters had the right to vote. Endit