Candidates for the Seimas elections identify corruption in public procurement and political corruption as the most prevalent corruption-related issues in Lithuania. This is according to a survey conducted by Transparency International Lithuania of political parties participating in the Seimas elections on their anti-corruption objectives and priorities. To address these challenges, the parties pledge to open more data in open data format, improve public procurement regulation and conduct more audits.
11 of the 14 parties and 1 coalition responded to the questionnaire submitted by TI Lithuania between 30 September and 8 October. The Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania – Christian Families Alliance, the Lithuanian People’s Party and the National Alliance did not reply.
The parties identified corruption in public procurement (6 parties and a coalition) and political corruption (5 parties and a coalition) as the most common corruption-related problems. Lack of transparency in the judiciary (3 parties), in the construction sector and bribery (2 parties) were also mentioned.
To curb corruption-related problems in Lithuania, election candidates suggest opening up data (4 parties), making proposals to regulate public procurement (3 parties), conducting more audits (3 parties), increasing the openness of the judiciary (3 parties), better protection of whistleblowers (2 parties), appointing a special prosecutor and changing the limitation period for corruption crimes (2 parties).
When asked what is needed to make decision-making in Lithuania more open, 6 parties and the coalition pointed to the need to involve citizens. For example, it was suggested to promote participatory budgeting and other deliberative democratic practices, to involve more social partners and NGOs in decision-making, and to hold public consultations.
In the light of the “parliamentary expenses” and the so-called “receipts” (čekiukai) scandals of recent years, TI Lithuania asked party representatives what action they had taken within their parties in response to these events. The Freedom Party indicated that it had started to publicise MPs’ parliamentary expenses on the party’s website. The Union of Democrats “For Lithuania”, Social Democratic Party of Lithuania (LSDP), the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union (LVŽS) and the Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) indicated that they had been assessing the situation within the parties and/or conducting internal audits. The Freedom and Justice Party and the People and Justice Union stated that these scandals did not affect party members. The Lithuanian Green Party asked the members of the municipal councils to clarify the procedure for handling expenses. The Dawn of Nemunas informed its members that the party would not tolerate violations of expenditure accounting, while the Peace Coalition spoke out against the misuse of public funds.
Three parties indicated that they use codes of ethics/transparency within the party (Freedom Party, Liberal Movement, TS-LKD).
Most political parties (11) also shared positive examples of transparency and anti-corruption efforts in Lithuania’s institutions and organizations in recent years. These examples include changes in how municipal councillors are compensated following the “receipts” scandal (2 parties), increased disclosure of information (declarations of property and income, interests, lobbying activities), participatory budgeting, and more.
“It is important to agree that laws do not work on their own. Political leadership and the creation of good examples are crucial if we really want to make progress on anti-corruption and address the issues fundamentally. This is why I hope that the representatives of the new Seimas and the Government will prioritise anti-corruption objectives and focus on increasing openness in decision-making and reducing bribery,” said Ingrida Kalinauskienė, the CEO of Transparency International Lithuania.
The questionnaire for political parties and the coalition can be found here (in Lithuanian). Their answers can be found here, and the answers of each party/coalition can be found here (language not corrected).
For more information: Ingrida Kalinauskienė, ingrida@transparency.lt
The initiative is funded by the European Union.