Functions of the Central Electoral Commission

1. In order to carry out the task set out in Article 31(1), the Central Electoral Commission shall do the following:

1) approve the descriptions that are specified in this Code and that form the basis for holding elections;

2) set out the forms and specimens for ballot papers, other documents, certificates, and seals used for election purposes;

3) divide the territory of the Republic of Lithuania into single-member constituencies and set up the single-member constituency(ies) of the Lithuanians of the world;

4) set up constituency electoral committees and municipal electoral committees;

5) control the constituency electoral committees and municipal electoral committees and provide them with the necessary methodological, organisational and technical support;

6) monitor the use of state budget funds allocated for election purposes and manage the financial activities of constituency electoral committees, municipal electoral committees, and polling district electoral committees;

7) draw up, maintain, and revise the list of persons eligible to vote and electoral rolls;

8) register campaigners;

9) in the cases provided for in this Code, accept application documents, issue nominating petitions, and check them;

10) register and cancel registration of candidates and lists of candidates;

11) set the ordinal numbers for lists of candidates and publish data on candidates, lists of candidates, their ordinal numbers, and application documents;

12) promote voter turnout;

13) arrange for the preparation of campaign broadcasts, determine the producers, broadcasters, participants, duration and timing of such broadcast and allocate the broadcast slots;

14) register local and international election observers in charge of observing elections throughout the territory of the Republic of Lithuania and issue them with certificates;

15) no later than four months after the date of publication of the final results of the elections, transmit to archives for permanent storage the minutes of vote counting of polling district electoral committees, constituency electoral committees, and municipal electoral committees and take the decision to destroy the election documents that are not subject to preservation;

16) approve the Rules of Procedure;

17) set up, manage and maintain the information systems and the website of the Central Electoral Commission;

18) cooperate with international organisations and liaison with counterpart institutions abroad;

19) take stock of the election experience, raise voter awareness, and provide voters with information on elections;

20) manage and ensure the use and improvement of ICT for election purposes;

21) take stock of and publish, for indefinite duration, the data on elections and referendums held in the Republic of Lithuania; initiatives of the citizens of the Republic of Lithuania and European Citizens’ Initiatives and their results; as well as data on financing and political advertising of political organisations and political election campaigns set out in this Code and laws;

22) under the procedure set out thereby and for the purposes of holding elections and referendums and implementing legislative initiatives of citizens of the Republic of Lithuania and the European Citizens’ Initiatives; for the purposes of electoral political campaigns, financing of political organisations, and transparency of dissemination of information on elections to the electorate; as well as for ensuring a functioning democracy and fair competition among candidates, the Central Electoral Commission shall, on the basis of application documents and other documents submitted by candidates or their representatives, regularly publish on its website the data on candidates, the number of votes received by them; data on members of electoral committees and commissions, members of referendum committees, observers, representatives, members of initiative groups, as well as data set out in this Code and in the laws on the financing of political organisations and political campaigns and dissemination of political advertising. The data published on the website of the Central Electoral Commission on candidates and votes received by them; as well as lists of members of electoral committees and commissions, members of referendum committees, observers, representatives, members of initiative groups, and donors of political campaigns may be modified for the purpose of correcting linguistic errors or correcting the information on the website when it differs from the information contained in the application documents and other documents. The website may not publish the personal identification numbers of candidates and other persons, the numbers of documents confirming their nationality or identity, and the addresses of their place of residence;

23) organise training for members and chairs of electoral committees under the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission;

24) perform other functions specified in this Code and other laws.

2. In order to carry out the task set out in Article 31(2), the Central Electoral Commission shall do the following:

1) determine and announce final election results;

2) declare elections invalid on the grounds set out in this Code;

3) announce run-off voting or by-election;

4) during the period between elections to the Seimas set out in this Code, adopt and announce decisions on the termination of powers of a member of the Seimas, and award mandates to candidates elected in a multi-member constituency filling the vacant seats in the Seimas previously occupied by Members of the Seimas elected in a multi-member constituency; 5) in the cases set out in this Code, during the period that falls between local and mayoral elections, adopt and publish decisions on the termination or loss of powers of municipal councillors and mayors, and grants recognition to the mandates of new municipal councillors filling the vacant seats of municipal councillors;

6) in the cases set out in this Code, in the period falling between elections to the European Parliament, adopt and publish decisions on the termination or loss of powers of a Member of the European Parliament and on filling of the vacant seat of a Member of the European Parliament; 7) issue certificates to elected candidates and candidates awarded mandates to fill the vacant seats in the cases set out in this Code.
3. In order to carry out the task set out in Article 31(3), the Central Electoral Commission shall do the following:
1) establish the procedure and methods for financing and monitoring of the financing of political campaigns, audit, and political advertising, and approve the descriptions and document forms specified in this Code;

2) make recommendations on election campaigning, political advertising, investigation into bribing of voters, and other recommendations associated with elections;

3) monitor the financing of election campaigns, organise independent scrutiny of campaigners, assess auditors’ observations, and take decisions on irregularities.

4. In order to carry out the task set out in Article 31(4), the Central Electoral Commission shall do the following:

1) resolve electoral disputes within its remit;

2) within its remit, examine reports, complaints and requests from individuals regarding the financing of political organisations and electoral political campaigns, political advertising, bribing of voters and other violations related to elections, and establish the procedure for admission and processing of such reports, complaints and requests;

3) within its remit, on the basis of decisions or assessment by the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania and/or the Inspector of Journalist Ethics on whether manipulative tools have been used on accounts of an online social media platform, adopts the decision on the use of such tools in the context of electoral political campaigning;

4) publish on its website, under the procedure set out in Article 101, decisions on any established facts of bribing of voters;

5) examine complaints and take decisions concerning the decisions of constituency electoral committees and, if necessary, concerning the decisions of the polling district electoral committees; also annul the decisions of electoral committees where they fail to comply with the requirements of this Code, other laws, or other legal acts;

6) in the cases established by this Code, other laws, or other legal acts, adopt decisions and apply liability for violations of this Code, other laws, or other legal acts.

5. In order to carry out the task set out in Article 31(5), the Central Electoral Commission shall do the following:

1) act as a national contact point which shares with the entities referred to in Article 28(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014 any information on the financing of, control of, and sanctions for European political parties and European political foundations;

2) act as a contact point providing information and support in relation to the submission of the European Citizens’ Initiative;

3) act as an authority in charge of verifying and certifying the statements of support made by persons entitled to vote in elections to the European Parliament in the Republic of Lithuania and persons implementing the European Citizens’ Initiative in the Republic of Lithuania; also act as an authority in charge of issuing certificates that confirm the number of valid statements of support received in the Republic of Lithuania;

4) be in charge of exchanging voter data and candidates with the contact points of other Member States of the European Union;

5) under the procedure laid down by the Central Electoral Commission and at the request of the applicants, issue statements of support to the organisers of the European Citizens’ Initiative registered by the European Commission;

6) establish the procedure for verifying the statements of support submitted thereto by the organisers of the European Citizens’ Initiative and establish the procedure for issuing a certificate of confirmation of the number of valid statements of support received in the Republic of Lithuania;

7) issue a certificate attesting that the online system for the collection of statements of support complies with the requirements set out in Article 11(4) of Regulation (EU) 2019/788 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019.