Lifting ban on business donations to parties would make buying them legal – Grybauskaitė

“Especially now that we have seen what is happening and how parties were bought directly, I can only call this proposal as legitimation of the purchase of political parties,” she said in an interview with the Delfi.lt news website published on Wednesday.

The president’s comment comes as Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis has called for discussions on removing the ban on businesses to support political parties.

Donations to political parties by businesses and private individuals have been banned since 2012 when state subsidies were introduced under certain legislative amendments initiated Grybauskaitė.

Related Post

The ban on support by individuals was later relaxed to allow donations during political campaigns, but with certain restrictions.

The president noted that business donations to parties are prohibited in many Western countries, adding that Lithuania quadrupled the state’s funding for political parties after the ban was put in place.

The ruling parties say they will discuss revising the party funding model after the Seimas National Security and Defense Committee completes its investigation into businesses’ influence on political processes.

Share

Recent Posts

  • Foreign affairs

“No need to mince words”: an assessment of what Trump’s victory means for Lithuania

"We can shout very loudly, but it won't change the position of the American people,"…

1 day ago
  • Latest

Lies, disrespect and mockery: experts assess Blinkevičiūtė’s “gift” to voters without scruples

From mocking messages flooding social networks to harsh criticism from political experts, the decision of…

1 week ago
  • Foreign affairs

Another year in the sovereign history of Kazakhstan

Republic Day has been celebrated in Kazakhstan as the main national date since 2022, giving…

2 weeks ago
  • Defence

In the assessment of NATO’s readiness for war with Russia, there is also a warning about the Baltic states: what is the Kremlin’s wild card?

According to Lrytas.lt, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) faces a new geopolitical reality with…

2 weeks ago
  • Tribune

The Citus projects: The Kaip Niujorke by CITUS project continues – the spirit of New York unfolds in Vilnius, and the second phase is launching

In September, Citus – a creative real estate projects’ development and placemaking company – began…

2 weeks ago
  • Latest

These parties will enter the Seimas for the third time in a row. How many votes did they lose, and how many did they gain?

As various parties emerge, disappear or reorganize themselves in the political space, the Lithuanian Social…

3 weeks ago