ECHR: Lithuania’s impeached president should be allowed to run in 2016 elections

The reply to the inquiry sent by an ad hoc parliamentary commission in July was received from Genevieve Mayer, secretary general of the Department for the Execution of Judgments of the court’s Directorate General of Human Rights and Rule of Law.

Mayer noted that Paksas was banned from parliamentary elections back in 2004.

“Since the court’s judgement of 2011, parliamentary elections have already been held once in October 2012 without the applicant being able to present himself. Therefore, it would appear appropriate that the applicant should be enabled to present himself during the parliamentary elections in October 2016, if he so wishes,” reads the reply to the Lithuanian parliamentary commission.

The parliament has formed an ad hoc commission to establish the reasons behind the failure to implement the ECHR ruling of Jan. 6 of 2011 on Paksas’ candidacy for the elections.

The parliament had started to discuss a Constitutional amendment on post-impeachment candidacy, however, the final voting did not take place. The bid to change the Constitution in the current parliament is short of votes.

Paksas cannot run for president and the parliament since he was removed from the President’s Office by way of impeachment in 2004. The Constitutional Court has ruled that a person who has lost a post by way of impeachment cannot hold any position that requires a Constitutional oath for life. According to the court’s ruling changing the provision would require amending the country’s main law.