A constitutional referendum was held in Lithuania on 12 May 2024, alongside the first round of the presidential elections. Voters were asked whether they approve of a constitutional amendment to allow Lithuanian citizens to hold dual citizenship. The results showed that a majority of voters were in favor of the proposal. However, the initiative failed to pass due to insufficient turnout.
Background.
As holding dual citizenship is banned in most cases, around 1,000 Lithuanian citizens give up their citizenship each year to take another citizenship. Concerns have been raised over the effects of the citizenship requirements on the country's demography, given the population decline which saw the Lithuanian population decrease from 3.5 million in 1990 to 2.8 million in 2024.
A referendum on the same issue was held in 2019. Although 74% voted in favour, the number of affirmative votes was below the 50% of all registered voters required to validate the referendum.
The holding of the 2024 referendum was approved by the Seimas on 23 May 2023 by a vote of 111–0.
The Lithuanian diaspora is estimated at two million people and is largely concentrated in countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, Russia, and Canada. It is estimated that there are around 600,000 people of Lithuanian descent living in the United States.
Campaign.
The "Yes" vote was endorsed by presidential candidates Giedrimas Jeglinskas, Aurelijus Veryga and Dainius Žalimas, as well as most political parties.
A study by the Government of Lithuania showed that 60 percent of respondents intended to participate in the referendum.
Results.
As the votes in favor represented around 43% of registered voters, and the referendum required an absolute majority of registered voters (not just participating voters) to be approved, the proposal failed, similar to the previous one as in 2019.
Aftermath.
Following the failure of the referendum, MP Dalia Asanavičiūtė, who initiated the proposal, said that the results had put Lithuania into “a situation of legal impossibility” where dual citizenship cannot be expanded through a constitutional amendment. This led her to file a bill in the Seimas on 13 May to amend the Law on Citizenship to allow Lithuanian citizens in EU and NATO member states to keep their Lithuanian passports. Seimas Speaker Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen also expressed disappointment at the outcome of the referendum, but opposed lowering the threshold for a future vote on the issue. President Gitanas Nausėda said that the referendum organisers made insufficient efforts to present their case to voters. However, he suggested that a lower threshold for such measures to pass be implemented in the future.
References.
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