Conservative lawmaker Kazys Starkevičius announced Friday that he is resigning from the Seimas, Lithuania’s parliament, amid a pretrial investigation into possible corruption at the State Plant Service. His seat will be taken by former lawmaker Angelė Jakavonytė.
“Throughout all these years, I have served the state and its people responsibly and to the best of my abilities. I regret that the situation has come to this, and I am making this personally painful decision – as of today, I resign from my seat in the Seimas,” Starkevičius wrote on Facebook.
The veteran politician temporarily suspended his membership in the Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) party about a month ago following searches conducted in his parliamentary office and home.
Starkevičius said he remains confident in his actions and trusts the country’s legal system. “I will continue to defend myself using legal means as a private citizen. This stage has been a great shock for me and my family, so I will devote time to them,” he said.
Starkevičius was elected to the Seimas two years ago via the party list. With his resignation, Jakavonytė, who served in the previous parliament, will take his seat. TS-LKD representative Raminta Keršytė confirmed to BNS that Jakavonytė has agreed to assume the role.
The Central Election Commission (VRK) confirmed Friday that it had received Starkevičius’ resignation, effective March 6. “The statement was signed with a qualified electronic signature, as required by the Election Code,” the commission said. The matter of his mandate termination will be added to the next commission meeting agenda.
Starkevičius and Saulius Skvernelis, leader of the opposition Democrats “For Lithuania” party, had been summoned as special witnesses in the investigation of possible corruption at the State Plant Service. Starkevičius declined to give testimony.
A special witness is called when authorities are interested in the individual’s actions but either do not have enough evidence to charge them or cannot pursue charges due to parliamentary immunity.
During the previous term, Starkevičius briefly served as agriculture minister.
The ongoing pretrial investigation has so far resulted in charges against 14 individuals.
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