The newly elected Lithuanian mayors and councillors will be working under the new Law on Local Self-Government, adopted in June last year. The new law has changed the role and power of the mayors, making them an executive authority. What does it mean?
As mayors become executives, they will no longer be council members but will still organise council meetings.
“It is a novelty that the mayor is removed from the council, but he still draws up the agenda and chairs it, even though he cannot vote, which is something of a paradox,” said Saulius Spurga, an associate professor at the Mykolas Romeris University (MRU).
However, the mayors will have veto power. They will be able to return decisions taken by the council, and the council will have to vote on them again. If the mayor’s veto is overruled, he will be able to appeal to the government.
“It is regulated in a similar way to the president’s veto power over laws adopted by the parliament – there is a possibility to return decisions with a reason, and there is a possibility to override the veto,” said Johanas Baltrimas, dean of the Faculty of Law at Vilnius University (VU).
The mayors will also decide where the city’s money will be spent – they will prepare the municipal budget and will be responsible for it. The mayor will also have the right to delegate some functions to the director of the municipal administration.
“In terms of meeting public expectations, I think the mayor has become more like what the voters hope for. [...] But I’m not sure whether this will add stability to the functioning of local government,” said Ignas Kalpokas, an associate professor at Vytautas Magnus University.
Vice-mayors will also be appointed by the mayor, as will the director of the administration.
“The way things have been done so far is that a coalition of parties was formed in the council and the vice-mayors were members of those parties,” Spurga said.
As in the Seimas, the opposition will now be able to have a leader, and a minority hour will be organised at council meetings, where the opposition will be able to ask the mayor and vice-mayors questions.
Moreover, mayors will no longer be able to serve forever, as the new law sets the maximum number of consecutive terms at three.
On Sunday, Lithuanians voted in the first round of municipal and mayoral elections. The second round of mayoral elections will take place on March 18.
Read more: Lithuania’s local elections: results summary
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