„Even before sending the list of questions of the Seimas Commission to the President, the Chairman of the Commission, Bakas, announced that he was already writing the conclusions, that the Commission had done all the work and had the answers to the main questions. The President decided not to bother the parliamentarians with additional work and not to send the answers to the Commission,“ Ridas Jasiulionis, an adviser to the President, said in a reply sent to Elta.
In early March, parliamentarians sent 70 questions to the Head of State about members of the 2019 presidential election staff, supporters, and the President's relations with representatives of the Belarusian fertiliser business.
Bakas believes that the President's answers are necessary
For his part, Vytautas Bakas, Chairman of the Temporary Commission, believes that Nausėda's answers are necessary for the conclusion of this parliamentary inquiry.
„The answers are necessary, they are necessary for the preparation of the conclusion, to make it as objective as possible. The inquiry is about data collection, and the President was asked 70 important questions that both the Commission and the public would like answers to,“ Bakas told Elta.
„He has the right and the duty to testify before the Commission and to provide answers. There is a general rule when a person may not testify. If he were to testify about his crime, a violation of the law, then there is a general rule that a person may not testify against himself“, he added.
Even before the President's public statement about the choice not to answer the questions, Bakas said he expected to receive answers from Nausėda. In his view, testifying before a parliamentary commission is a respect for the rule of law.
„I hope that the President will respect the rule of law. He must be himself, an example of the law, and a guarantor of the rule of law. I hope that he will respect his duties and give those answers,“ said the chairman of the Commission.
However, he said, the Commission would be ready to deliver its conclusion without the President's answers.
The Chairman of the Commission assured that the conclusions would be approved at the meeting of the Temporary Commission on Monday. He said a draft resolution would be registered on Tuesday, which Bakas hoped to present to the Seimas as early as Thursday.
ELTA recalls that the special Commission of the DSS( VSD) whistleblower, established by the Seimas, aims to answer whether, during the 2019 presidential election campaign, the intelligence service lawfully collected information about the candidates and their environment, how it handled it, and whether it passed on such information to anyone.
It also seeks to determine whether SEB Bank customers' data was used in the recent campaign and what electoral costs the candidates incurred. Questions are also being raised about the links between President Nausėda, who won the elections, and representatives of the Belarusian fertiliser business. In addition, the Commission wants to determine whether the law enforcement authorities – the Special Investigation Service (STT– Specialioji Tyrimų Tarnyba) and the General Prosecutor's Office – have correctly assessed the information received following the whistleblower's appeal.
The Commission was due to submit its conclusion and draft resolution to the Seimas by 10 March, but the Commission's work has been extended until 26 March due to the start of the Spring Session.
