One out of One: the Speaker of Lithuanian Seim Elected

Throughout the night of November the 18th Lithuanian Seim was puzzled with a question: Arunas Valinkas or Arunas Valinkas? The second time the Speaker of Lithuanian legislative body was finally elected.

Throughout the night of November the 18^th Lithuanian Seim was puzzled with a question: Arunas Valinkas or Arunas Valinkas? The second time the Speaker of Lithuanian legislative body was finally elected.

The first attempt to elect the Speaker ended in failure since 69 deputies voted against Valinkas candidacy while only 67 – for. Hereupon the meeting was adjourned. During this break the ruling coalition which nominated Valinkas managed to collect 80 deputies’ signatures in his support, as is reported by Lenta.ru.

In a few hours the second vote took place and this time deputies’ sympathy ratio was different: 78 deputies (out of 141) voted affirmatively. Such arrangement of votes ensured Valinkas the post of the Speaker.

At the same time the representatives of the opposition did not recognized re-voting as legal. In their opinion, as far as no violations were registered during the first elections of the Speaker, these results should be recognized. The opposition intends to go to the Constitutional Court which will have to check the voting taken place for its congruence with the basic law.

Meanwhile, low opinions of the new parliament’s effectiveness are expressed more an more often. “I think that this Seim has had a bad start,” evaluated the new parliament the caretaker prime minister of Lithuania Gediminas Kirkilas. “There were a lot of violations. The second nomination of the Seim’s Speaker is quite arguable”. G.Kirkilas cannot recollect the occurrence when the Seim’s Speaker was elected out of one candidacy.

We would remind you that at the opening sitting of the new convocation Seim, formed at the end of October, the new prime-Minister of Lithuania is to be elected. However, at present, there is no information about the appointment of the premier.