„The TS-LKD group has decided to initiate an appeal to the Constitutional Court to clarify whether the President's decree approving a partial Government without two ministers is in line with the country's fundamental law. The Constitution provides for the approval of a full government,“ the TS-LKD said in a statement to Elta.
„The only way to find out whether the approval of an incomplete Government is legitimate is through the interpretation of the Constitutional Court. We are currently seeing the text of the appeal to the Constitutional Court and will soon collect signatures of the members of the Seimas,“ the Seimas Conservatives said.
The opposition group also points out that Prime Minister-designate Gintautas Paluckas and President Gitanas Nausėda did not form a full government within the two-week deadline stipulated by the Constitution—the Cabinet of Ministers was approved without the candidates nominated by Nemuno Aušra for the positions of Minister of Environment and Justice.
„It is possible that the search for suitable ministers could take an indefinite period of time due to the chosen coalition format and the conditions and attitude of the President towards the candidates of Nemuno Aušra: „I don't know who among the self-respecting people would want to identify with the leader of this party,“ says TS-LKD.
„When an incomplete Government is formed, the deadlines laid down in the Constitution for appointing ministers who have not been appointed disappear. This may create the preconditions for violating the constitutional principle of responsible governance. Also, tolerating the formation of an incomplete Cabinet of Ministers allows circumventing the Constitution and its strict deadlines for the Prime Minister-designate to approve the cabinet,“ the Conservatives stress.
The TS-LKD also points out that the law on the Government stipulates that ministries and other state institutions are obliged to provide the appointed ministers with the material necessary for the preparation of the Government programme.
„This provision suggests that the preparation of the Government Programme is also the responsibility of the appointed ministers. Questions arise as to whether it is constitutional for the formation of the Government to comply with the constitutional procedure of the Government when the members of the Seimas, who were not present during the preparation of the programme, were not allowed to ask questions to the appointed ministers during the discussion of the programme and were not able to ascertain whether the appointed ministers were capable of carrying out the programme,“ – the TS-LKD stressed.
To appeal to the Constitutional Court, 29 signatures are required.
ELTA recalls that President Nausėda signed a decree on the new Government's composition last Wednesday. The new cabinet is without two ministers, and it is still unclear who will head the Ministries of Environment and Justice.
Last Thursday, the new Government led by Palucki presented its programme to the Seimas. The Seimas has 15 days from the submission of the Government's programme to consider it. The new Government is only authorised to act once the Seimas approves the cabinet's programme.
