Lithuania’s Ethics Commission to Assess Possible Consultations by Matjošaitytė for Nemuno Aušra

Lithuania’s Chief Official Ethics Commission has begun assessing public reports that Laura Matjošaitytė, a member of the country’s Central Electoral Commission, may have advised the Nemuno Aušra party.

The ethics body said it had not received a formal complaint or notification. Its chairwoman, Jolanta Bernotaitė, nevertheless instructed the investigations department to review publicly available information and submit proposals for discussion at a commission meeting.

The reports, first published by the Delfi news portal, said Matjošaitytė may have helped Nemuno Aušra prepare a response to the electoral commission. Justice Minister Rita Tamašunienė said the matter should be assessed by the ethics commission. Asked about payment for the alleged services, Matjošaitytė said she could not disclose the information because it was protected by professional secrecy obligations applying to lawyers.

The Central Electoral Commission said it found no expenses for legal services provided by Matjošaitytė in Nemuno Aušra’s submitted financial documents. The issue comes weeks after the electoral commission found that the party and its leader, Remigijus Žemaitaitis, had seriously breached the law by accepting money from illegal funding sources during the 2024 parliamentary and presidential election campaigns.

The commission said the party had used donations from legal entities and third parties. It also cited 4,300 euros in membership fees paid through third parties, some of which came from a legal entity. A separate finding said deputy party leader and campaign chief Robertas Puchovičius had helped transfer a combined 24,200 euros from the companies Tvari statyba and Lajota to finance the party’s parliamentary campaign.

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We have not received a complaint or notification yet, but I instructed the VTEK Investigations Department to assess the information available in the public domain and submit proposals to the commission for discussion at a commission meeting.