Legal provisions for direct democracy at the local level

“Thereferendum law of 2002 still has no provisions on local referendums andinitiatives. Moreover, municipalitiesalso have made no attempts to introduce their own referendum by-laws or allowthe popular initiative. In theory, it is possible to use the right oflegislative initiative at the regional and local level, but it has never beenemployed…since the adoption of the law on legislative initiative. However,since 2002 the law on local self-government has a special chapter (13) on theright of local government to organize local public opinion polls in local communitiesand cities.” (p. 137)

AlgisKrupavičius, “Citizens’ Initiatives in Lithuania: Initiative Institutions andTheir Political Impact in a New Democracy,” in Maija Set?l? and Theo Schiller,eds.: Citizens’ Initiatives in Europe:Procedures and Consequences of Agenda-Setting by Citizens. Basingstoke:Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.

LAW ON LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT

(Adopted1994; last amended 2011)

http://www3.lrs.lt/pls/inter3/dokpaieska.showdoc_e?p_id=416348

Article 3.Definitions

1. “Municipality” means an administrative unit ofthe territory of the State, defined by law, the community of which has theright to self-governance guaranteed by the Constitution and implemented througha municipal council elected by the permanent residents of that administrativeunit of the territory of the State and through an executive institution as wellas other institutions and establishments of a municipality, which are formed bythe latter and accountable to it…

Article 4. Principlesof Self-Government

Local self-government shall be based on thefollowing main principles:

9) Participation of the residents of amunicipality in the management of public affairs of the municipality. Municipalinstitutions shall provide conditions for the residents of a municipality todirectly participate in preparing and debating draft decisions, organising polls,assemblies, meetings, public consideration of petitions, as well as promoteother forms of civic initiatives. Municipal institutions shall implementprinciples of self-governance in educational, cultural and otherestablishments, support initiatives of associations related to the managementof public affairs of a municipality;

Article 7. State (delegated by the State tomunicipalities) functions shall be as follows:

State (delegatedby the State to municipalities) functions shall be as follows:

20) participation in holding opinion polls and othercitizens’ (popular) initiatives provided for by law;

Article 20. Powersof the mayor, deputy mayor

2. The mayor:

13) shall co-ordinate preparation for an opinion poll of local populationand organise it;

Localauthorities may organize polls on decisions made by local governments and otherissues. However, these polls are non-binding and only advisory in nature.