On the eve of the centenary of the Constituent Seimas and of the Republic of Lithuania, the Seimas adopted a Resolution on the Centenary of the Constituent Seimas (draft No XIII-4798), thereby undertaking to preserve and cherish the traditions of the Lithuanian parliamentarianism and their historical memory, with a strong emphasis on the significance of the Constituent Seimas and its personalities. A total of 119 Members of the Seimas voted unanimously in favour of the Resolution.
When commemorating the centenary of the Constituent Seimas, which was the first national parliament in a modern representative democracy, and of the Lithuanian republican tradition, the Seimas pointed out that from its very restoration, the state of Lithuania had relied on the solid foundations of democracy and equality of all its citizens, and had been one of the most advanced countries worldwide in this respect.
The Resolution notes that Lithuania held its first free and fair universal elections on 14–15 April 1920, with the voter turnout standing at 90%. These national elections put Lithuania in the same rank of countries that were the first to grant women equal rights with men to vote and be elected as representatives of the nation.
‘For a young democracy, the Constituent Seimas represented a unique example of unity to work for the benefit of creating a national state, as well as demonstrated the ability to find compromises between different political parties, representatives of different nationalities and even holders of very distant world views,’ the Resolution reads.
The Seimas urged the Government to draft, by 1 October 2020, a long-term programme for research into the history of the Lithuanian parliamentarianism and for funding the commemoration of historical memory.
Source and image: press release https://www.lrs.lt/