It is true that there has been talk in the public space for some time that the information about the referendum that will be held together with the presidential elections is very poor, and some residents have not heard anything about it at all.
The people of Vilnius gathered at the ballot boxes also noticed that the statements formulated in the referendum ballot are rather difficult to understand, and a person who has not delved into citizenship issues could even be misled. The Central Election Commission (CEC) responded to such fears.
Aušrinė Armonaitė, the Minister of Economy and Innovation and Chairwoman of the Freedom Party, who came to cast her vote at the pre-voting station located in Lukiškių Square in Vilnius on Tuesday morning, explained that now it is basically being decided whether the issue of citizenship will be regulated by a constitutional law.
“The part that talks about only exceptional cases has been deleted. If it’s that simple – you need to vote “yes” for those who want their relatives, relatives and friends who live abroad to have the opportunity to preserve Lithuanian citizenship”, explained A. Armonaitė.
She also appreciated the criticism of the Freedom Party’s controversial Facebook ad featuring a burning baby.
“If more people come to the referendum, I think it’s good. Maybe it was a provocation, but if more people learned about the referendum, if more people vote, at the end of the day it will be better for Lithuania,” the minister said.
A. Armonaitė urged the people coming to vote to take both ballots, because, according to her, we are not only electing the president, so it is very important to show your position.
Some chose not to vote
However, some voters met at the polling station in Lukiškiau Square said that they had a hard time understanding what they read in the referendum ballot, and in general they missed clearer communication on this issue.
“It’s not clear at all – they confuse each other on TV and it’s an empty matter. I’m in favor of it, but since everyone was so misleading, I voted against it. Recently, the members of the Seimas started campaigning here that it is not needed here, that they have not prepared that law, I was very disappointed.
There is no clarity, and I am very disappointed with the work of the Seimas – it’s just a kindergarten,” said Antanas Algirdas, 82, from Vilnius.
Daiva, who lives in the capital, said that after looking into the referendum, the picture for herself is clearer.
“There are question marks, but I don’t even know – I was interested, I am in favor of having two citizenships, because there are already so few people in Lithuania, so let’s not lose those who have left. Still, many will return,” the portal said lrytas.lt said the woman.
True, she agreed that due to the sufficiently complex wording, some voters may even accidentally make a mistake.
“Of course you can,” thought Daiva.
Lucija, who left the polling station around half past ten in the morning, did not vote at all because of her citizenship.
“No, I’m not sure and I didn’t vote. I swiped, damaged, and that’s it. I’m not spinning my head,” the woman explained.
However, the wording of the referendum did not appear so complicated to the other Vilnius residents who were interviewed.
“Everything is clear enough, uncomplicated. Just scrapped the old wording and left what’s left,” Tom said Tuesday morning.
On his part, Rimvydas, who came to vote with his wife, is convinced that knowing his position, a person will easily choose the appropriate option.
“You don’t need to explain every detail – first of all you need to know what I want. Then everything is clear. If “yes”, then all of Lithuania will be great, if “no” – then no. If a person wants it, it will be clear to him, the wording will be clear, and if he doesn’t want it, it will be unclear,” the man taught.
Provided an explanation
CEC representative Indrė Ramanavičienė for the portal lrytas.lt reminded that the resolution to announce a mandatory referendum on the amendment of Article 12 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania was adopted by the Seimas less than a year ago after the majority of the votes of the parliamentarians approved the draft law submitted by the initiative group of the members of the Seimas, which formulated exactly this text, which the voters will find in the ballot.
“Thus, the Central Electoral Commission, which prepared the draft of the referendum ballot, had the obligation to transfer the question to be decided in the referendum exactly as the Seimas decided.
It is important to understand that the referendum proposes to change the most important law of the state – the Constitution, to correct it by removing one sentence “Except for the individual cases provided for by law, no one can be a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania and another state at the same time” and by adding the provision that if the majority of voters approve, the citizenship the grounds and procedure for forfeiture shall be determined by the constitutional law.
The article proposed to be changed by this referendum is in the first section of the Constitution, where we talk about the most important values of the State, its foundations. If the amendment to the Constitution is approved by the referendum, it would enter into force immediately after the referendum results are announced,” commented I. Ramanavičienė.
According to the CEC representative, citizens must be sure that the text they voted for would be included in the Constitution, because in the referendum, the citizens themselves, and not the members of the Seimas elected by them, vote for a specific text of the law. It is for this reason that the proposed provision for amending the Constitution is presented to the voters in the referendum ballot.
“Simply speaking, the referendum on the amendment of Article 12 of the Constitution resolves the question of whether to preserve the Lithuanian citizenship of our citizens who have left Lithuania after the restoration of independence in cases where they acquire the citizenship of other states.
In the referendum, voters are asked whether they support the amendment of Article 12 of the Constitution by removing the sentence “Except for the separate cases provided for by law, no one can be a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania and another state at the same time”.
It is this sentence that currently prevents the preservation of Lithuanian citizenship after acquiring the citizenship of another state”, I.Ramanavičienė taught.
According to her, if the voter ticks the “yes” box on the ballot, he will approve the amendment of the Constitution and open the way for Lithuanian citizens to preserve the citizenship of our country acquired by birth in the event that they acquire the citizenship of another country friendly to Lithuania.
And if the voter votes “no”, it means that he does not support the amendment of the Constitution, and advocates that the current procedure be maintained, when Lithuanians, who have adopted the citizenship of other states, lose their Lithuanian citizenship.
“In such a case, if the referendum on the preservation of citizenship were to take place and the amendment was adopted, Article 12 of the Constitution would look exactly as indicated in the ballot,” explained the CEC representative.
The referendum would be considered to have taken place if more than 50 percent of the total number of voters came to vote.
The provision of the referendum would be adopted if more than half of Lithuanian citizens who have the right to vote approve it (check the YES box).
The number of voters is more than 2.38 million. For the referendum to take place, at least 1.19 million voters need to participate.
In order for the amendment of the Constitution to be approved, it is necessary that significantly more voters participate and at least 1.19 million of them vote “Yes”. If so many approval votes are not collected, the referendum provision will not be adopted.
