Olekas Says Reports of Matjošaitytė Advising Nemunas Dawn Raise Concern

Reports that Laura Matjošaitytė advised the Nemunas Dawn party before the 2024 parliamentary elections have raised questions about the conduct of a senior election official. Matjošaitytė now serves as a member of Lithuania’s Central Electoral Commission, or VRK, and previously led the body.

Parliament Speaker Juozas Olekas said the information was concerning, but urged officials to establish the facts. “It raises such concern about how a person appointed to such responsible duties behaves, which does not seem to be how one should behave. But we need to know the specific facts,” he told public broadcaster LRT.

According to information published by Delfi, Matjošaitytė advised Nemunas Dawn, led by Remigijus Žemaitaitis, on membership-fee issues and helped prepare the party’s response to the electoral commission. She later became a VRK member, but allegedly did not publicly disclose the services or recuse herself from related issues.

Matjošaitytė declined to say whether the party paid her, saying the information was protected by professional legal secrecy. The VRK said it found no expenses for her legal services in the party’s financial documents. The Public Ethics Commission has received a complaint and will decide whether there are grounds to open an investigation. The Justice Ministry said the matter should be assessed by that commission.

The case follows a VRK finding that Nemunas Dawn and Žemaitaitis seriously breached the law by accepting funds from illegal sources during the 2024 parliamentary and presidential campaign period. The commission said the party used donations from legal entities and payments routed through third parties, including 4,300 euros in membership fees and 24,200 euros allegedly transferred through party deputy leader and campaign chief Robertas Puchovičius.

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It raises such concern about how a person appointed to such responsible duties behaves, which does not seem to be how one should behave. But we need to know the specific facts.