A second attempt to amend the constitution’s Article 12 and allow more Lithuanians to hold multiple citizenships has not succeeded after Sunday’s referendum.
According to the latest data from the Central Electoral Commission (VRK), 1,396,828 voters, or 59% of the electorate, took part in the referendum.
Of these, 1,014,304, or 73.9%, voted in favour of the change that would allow dual citizenship, but this was not enough.
At least half of all eligible voters must vote in favour of a constitutional amendment on citizenship for it to be adopted. The total number of citizens on the electoral roll this year was 2,385,234. Therefore, 1,192,617 had to vote “yes”.
This is the second time that Lithuania has attempted to change Article 12 of the constitution.
In 2019, 1.24 million votes were needed and 956,564 people, or 72.35% of the total number of voters, voted “yes”.
This year, the proposed amendment would have deleted the provision that “except in individual cases provided for by law, no one may be a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania and of another state” from Article 12 of the constitution. The proposed new wording was: “Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania is acquired at birth and on other grounds and in accordance with the procedure laid down by a constitutional law. The constitutional law shall also determine the grounds and procedure for losing citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania.”
Further reading
Political analysts and public representatives criticised this wording, calling it incomprehensible.
Expatriates who emigrated after the restoration of independence on in 1990 are currently not eligible for dual citizenship, with some exceptions.
The Constitutional Court has clarified that only a referendum amending the constitution can open the possibility of dual citizenship to Lithuanian citizens who have acquired citizenship of other countries since the restoration of independence.
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