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Kazys Grinius, elected President of the Republic of Lithuania, (on the right) takes an oath in the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania; sitting at the table is Jonas Staugaitis, Speaker of the Seimas (in the centre). Kaunas, 8 June 1926, unknown photographer. |
Elections to the Third Seimas were held on 8–10 May 1926.
The first sitting convened in the building of the Seimas in Kaunas on 2 June 1926.
The Third Seimas had 85 members.
Jonas Staugaitis and Aleksandras Stulginskis served as Speakers of the Third Seimas.
None of the political parties had an absolute majority in the Third Seimas. National Peasants, Social Democrats and national minorities became partners in the ruling coalition. This Seimas was famous for its democratic reforms. The abolition of the martial law in the territory of Lithuania was among its major achievements. The Third Seimas had to elect the President of the Republic of Lithuania twice and experience a coup d’état. The Seimas did not complete its full term. On 12 April 1927, the Third Seimas was dissolved by the act of President Antanas Smetona.
ELECTIONS TO THE THIRD SEIMAS
By the act of 8 March 1926, Aleksandras Stulginskis, President of the Republic of Lithuania, announced the date of the next elections to the Seimas. Elections to the Third Seimas were held on 8–9 May 1926. The second round of elections took place on 10 May 1926. With the elections approaching, the law on the elections to the Seimas was amended. The key amendment to the law extended the number of members of the Seimas to 85. It also established the electoral constituency No 10, which included the Klaipėda Region with its centre in Klaipėda City. For the first time, the inhabitants of the Klaipėda Region were granted the right to elect the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania and to run for the Seimas elections. During the electoral campaign, an untraditional three-party coalition was formed, which included the Lithuanian Popular Peasants' Union, the Lithuanian Farmers’ Party, titled Santara until 14 February 1926, and the Lithuanian Nationalist Union. Although the Lithuanian Nationalist Union, titled the Party of National Progress until the summer of 1924, had previously run for elections to the Seimas, it had never won any seats in the Parliament. The coalition proved to be a success as representatives from the Lithuanian Nationalist Union and the Lithuanian Farmers’ Party got the seats in the Third Seimas.
COMPOSITION OF THE THIRD SEIMAS
The Third Seimas convened for its first sitting on 2 June 1926. None of the political parties had an absolute majority. The numbers of seats were distributed as follows: 5 seats for the Lithuanian Labour Federation, 14 seats for Lithuanian Christian Democrats, 4 seats for Poles, 15 seats for the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party, 3 seats for the Lithuanian Nationalist Union , 2 seats for the Lithuanian Farmers’ Party, 14 seats for the Lithuanian Farmers’ Union, 22 seats for the Lithuanian Popular Peasants’ Union, 6 seats for Lithuania’s Germans and residents of Klaipeda (1 seat for Germans and 5 seats for Germans of the Klaipeda Region). Over a short legislative period of the Third Seimas, only seven members were replaced. Out of 85 members of the Third Seimas, 40 members had worked in the Second Seimas. The electorate was more supportive of left parties, namely Social Democrats and Popular Peasants. Despite this fact, none of the parties had an absolute majority of seats in the Seimas. It became evident that the government would be formed by a coalition. The ruling coalition comprised National Peasants, Social Democrats and national minorities.
PRESIDIUM, POLITICAL GROUPS, AND COMMISSIONS OF THE THIRD SEIMAS
The Third Seimas had the following political groups: Popular Peasants Political Group, Jewish Political Group, Lithuanian Labour Federation Political Group, Polish Political Group, Social Democrat Political Group, Lithuanian Christian Democrat Political Group, Lithuanian Farmers’ Union Political Group, Nationalist Political Group, and the Political Group of Klaipeda Residents and Germans. Commissions were very important in the organisation of activities of the Seimas. The Seimas had standing and ad hoc commissions. The Presidium of the Third Seimas consisted of Speaker Jonas Staugaitis, First Deputy Speaker Steponas Kairys, Second Deputy Speaker Jonas Seponavičius, First Secretary Rudolfas Kinders, and Second Secretary Balys Žygelis, who was elected to this position only on 2 July 1926 due to disagreements on candidates. After the coup of 17 December 1926, a new Presidium of the Seimas was elected, comprising Speaker Aleksandras Stulginskis, First Deputy Speaker Mykolas Krupavičius, Second Deputy Speaker Kazys Ambrozaitis, First Secretary Jonas Masiliūnas, and Second Secretary Petras Jočys.
ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE THIRD SEIMAS
Several legislative drafts aimed at the democratisation of governance and at practical implementation of the Constitution of 1922 were submitted to the Third Seimas for deliberation. On 17 June 1926, the Seimas adopted the law on the abolition of the martial law. The martial law was abolished for the first time in the history of the Republic of Lithuania. On 6 July 1926 the Seimas passed the amnesty law. As a result, political prisoners, including Communists and Komsomol Youth were released from prison. Other laws eliminating restrictions of democratic rights and freedoms were adopted. An amendment to the Criminal Statute, adopted on 6 July 1926, abolished capital punishment in Lithuania. Subsequently, the law on press was amended abolishing all the pre-existing restrictions of the press. Thanks to reforms, the freedom of assembly was introduced for the first time in the history of Lithuania. Freedom of press and speech and other democratic rights were enshrined. With a view to saving budgetary resources, the new authorities reduced the salaries of the president and members of the Cabinet of Ministers and planned to cut salaries of civil servants and introduce civil registration among others. A part of society disapproved of the legislation adopted by the Third Seimas. The application of amnesty and permission to establish Polish schools in Lithuania caused public indignation.
COUP D’ETAT OF 17 DECEMBER 1926
Pressure by the opposition and frequent conflicts between Popular Peasants and Social Democrats resulted in the overthrow of the democratic government in Lithuania on 17 December 1926. Although the coup was carried out by the military, Nationalists and Christian Democrats contributed to organising it. Paradoxically, the leftist government failed to respond to warnings about the planned coup d’état. On 16 December 1926, at 7:24 pm, the Third Seimas met to deliberate the 1927 state budget. The sitting ran up to 3:43 am (17 December 1927), when the Plenary Chamber was raided by the armed military officers, who interrupted the sitting and ordered parliamentarians to go away. During the coup, the military surrounded the Presidential Palace and other important buildings, and arrested the President, members of the Cabinet of Ministers and several members of the Seimas who had condemned the actions of the coup participants. Forced by the coup conspirators, President Kazys Grinius called off the government of Mykolas Sleževičius, which had been previously formed by him, and commissioned the military-backed Augustinas Voldemaras to form a new Cabinet of Ministers. Soon the coup participants made Kazys Grinius sign a resignation letter surrendering his office as President thus helping to legitimise the consequences of the coup. At the extraordinary sitting of 19 December 1926, Antanas Smetona was elected President of the Republic of Lithuania. Following the coup, the Third Seimas abolished some of its previously adopted legislation to reintroduce martial law and impose censorship. The Third Seimas was dissolved pursuant to the decree of 12 April 1927 by President Smetona.
References:
Naujojo Seimo rinkimų dienos paskelbimo aktas (1926 03 08), Vyriausybės žinios, 1926 03 12, Nr. 219.
Seimo rinkimų įstatymo priedo pakeitimas, Vyriausybės žinios, 1926 03 12, Nr. 219.
Seimo stenogramos: 3-iasis Seimas, I sesija, 15-asis posėdis, 1926 06 30, p. 6–7.
Seimo stenogramos: 3-iasis Seimas, I sesija, 16-asis posėdis, 1926 07 02, p. 1.
Seimo stenogramos: 3-iasis Seimas, I sesija, 1-asis posėdis, 1926 06 02, p. 8.
Seimo sušaukimo aktas, 1926 05 25, Lietuvos centrinis valstybės archyvas, f. 923, ap. 1, b. 46, l. 102.
Tamošaitis Mindaugas, III Seimas (1926–1927), Didysis Lietuvos parlamentarų biografinis žodynas, t. 3, Lietuvos Respublikos Seimų I (1922–1923), II (1923–1926), III (1926–1927), IV (1936–1940) narių biografinis žodynas, Vilnius, 2007, p. 176.
Tamošaitis Mindaugas, III Seimas (1926–1927), Lietuvos Seimo istorija. XX–XXI a. pradžia, Vilnius: Baltos lankos, 2009, p. 147.
Prepared by Vilma Akmenytė-Ruzgienė
