„The VRK, without conducting a thorough investigation of the facts, made a decision based on assumptions regarding a few rose petals,“ Vėgėlė told Elta on Thursday.
„There has to be a serious investigation. The VRK has to prove that I am committing a bribery and that these are people who have the right to vote. Right now, this is just an assumption“, he added.
According to Vėgėlė, the VRK should not be concerned about his election campaign but about the visits to the regions of Gitanas Nausėda, who is seeking a second term as the country's leader. According to the lawyer, the incumbent president presents his electoral programme, which is funded by taxpayers' money during these trips.
„I am surprised that the VRK does not count the tens of thousands of euros of taxpayers' money that presidential candidate Gitanas Nausėda spends on his election campaign,“ said Vėgėlė.
„People are surprised. They send me letters, quotes, and phone recordings when the President presents his election programme in meetings with voters. He is directly conducting electioneering. We live in a realm of distorted mirrors,“ the lawyer said.
ELTA recalls that on Thursday, the VRK ruled that Vėgėlė had violated the ban on bribing voters by giving flowers to the women he met during the Kaziukas fair in the capital.
In March, Vėgėlė filed a complaint with the VRK about the current Head of State's visits to the regions.
He is not the only one raising this issue as the presidential election campaign gets underway. Other rivals of the incumbent Nausėda are also focusing on the visits of the host of Daukantas Palace to Lithuania.
The presidential candidates are convinced that the purpose of the Head of State's trips is to carry out his electoral campaign. Therefore, according to Nausėda's rivals, the taxpayer-funded visits to the regions are a clear violation of the Electoral Code, which the VRK should take up.
However, the President's Office disagrees with the accusations and points out that such visits to the regions occurred throughout his term.
