Press release, 12 November 2020

On Friday, 13 November 2020, at 12 p.m., the Seimas of the 2020–2024 legislative term will convene for its first sitting. The work of the Parliament will begin with a solemn part in the historic Hall of the Act of 11 March.

The first sitting of the Seimas will be opened by the oldest elected Member of the Seimas as laid down in the Statute of the Seimas. This honour falls on Antanas Vinkus, 77, who will preside over the sitting until the Speaker of the Seimas is elected. Marius Matijošaitis, 28, being the youngest Member of the Seimas, will be entrusted with an important role as a member of the first vote-counting group.

Gitanas Nausėda, President of the Republic of Lithuania, and Gintaras Grušas, Metropolitan Archbishop of Vilnius, will attend the sitting to welcome the elected Seimas of the 13th legislative term.

In the first sitting of the Seimas, Laura Matijošaitytė, Chairperson of the Central Electoral Commission, will announce the decision of the Central Electoral Commission on the final results of the elections to the Seimas and read the list of the elected Members of the Seimas. This will be followed by the ceremony of oath taking of Members of the Seimas.

The oaths of will be administered by Dainius Žalimas, President of the Constitutional Court.

Once the Members of the Seimas take the oath for the legislative term of 2020–2024, they will proceed with their sitting in the Plenary Chamber (Building II of the Seimas) to elect the Speaker and Deputy Speakers of the Seimas and to approve the composition of the Board of the Seimas and the Conference of Chairs.

How does the first session of a newly elected Seimas begin?

The Constitution stipulates that the newly elected Seimas is convened by the President of the Republic for the first sitting, usually starting at 12 p.m. in the premises of the Seimas.

It is on the day of the first sitting that the term of office of the Members of the Seimas starts to run. The mandate of the previously elected MPs expires the moment that the first sitting commences.

An elected Member of the Seimas acquires all of the rights of a representative of the Nation only upon taking the oath of allegiance to the Republic of Lithuania at a Seimas sitting. Members must take the oath at the first sitting of a newly elected Seimas; if they have a valid reason, however, they can do so later.

Members of the Seimas take the oath while standing in front of the President of the Constitutional Court, who administers the oath, and read the oath with their hand placed on the Constitution. Subsequently, Members sign the nominal oath sheet. The text of the oath may not be amended or changed. The last sentence of the oath, however, may be omitted.

Interestingly, the Seimas has preserved a century-long tradition of giving the oldest Member of the Seimas the honour to preside over the first sitting of a new legislature.

After the solemn ceremony, the Speaker and Deputy Speakers of the Seimas are elected. Subsequently, parliamentary groups are formed and the composition of the Board of the Seimas and the Conference of Chairs are approved.

At the beginning of the first session, the Seimas has to decide on the candidate for the post of the Prime Minister nominated by the President of the Republic, set up Seimas committees and approve their chairs and their deputies, consider the Government programme presented by the Prime Minister, and draw up a work programme of the autumn session.