Press release, 26 June 2014
In its plenary sitting the Seimas
adopted amendments to the Law on Public Procurement (draft No XIIP-1594(2))
stating that the requirements of this Law would be applied to procurement
carried out by political parties only when state budget appropriations are used
for purchasing supplies, services and works. A total of 70 MPs voted in favour
of the amendments, 1 was against, and 17 abstained.
As stated in the explanatory
note to the document, political party funds comprise not only the state budget
appropriations, but also membership fees, donations, activity income, interest on
the funds kept in the bank account, etc. “This amendment would allow political
parties (their structural units) to acquire necessary supplies easier and more
expeditiously and to get rid of disproportional bureaucratic restrictions and
excessively complicated procedures,” the explanatory note reads.
Before the Law was amended,
political parties had to act under the provisions of the Law on Public
Procurement and carry out the procedures established by them when acquiring
supplies, services or works. The exception was applied only to advertising
political campaigns (video tapes and propaganda films).
Rimas Rudaitis, Public Relations Unit,
Communications Department, tel. +370 5239 6132,
e-mail: [email protected]
