VILNIUS (Reuters) – Lithuania’s parliament rejected on Tuesday a proposal by the ruling Homeland Union party for a snap election amidst an expenses scandal, and the prime minister later said her government may resign in response.
The centre-left Homeland Union had proposed a snap election to “reset” the political system following media reports that many politicians, including three cabinet ministers, had filed excessive expenses while working as municipal councillors.
Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte, who has led the government since 2020, told reporters the Homeland Union party’s leadership would determine whether her government should continue.
She had previously pledged to present the government’s resignation unless parliament agreed to dissolve, but said on Tuesday this was not a certainty.
“I have probably allowed myself too much, because I’m not in the government on my own,” she told reporters.
Presenting the election plan to parliament, Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, who leads the Homeland Union, said voters should be given an opportunity to be a “final arbiter” of the scandal.
“Refusal to do that means the parliament is choosing an amnesty to all (…) which is not, necessarily, morally right”, Landsbergis told the assembly.
(Reporting by Andrius Sytas, editing by Terje Solsvik)
