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People and Justice Union

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People and Justice Union (Centrists, Nationalists)
Tautos ir teisingumo sąjunga (centristai, tautininkai)
AbbreviationTTS
ChairmanPetras Gražulis
Vice ChairpeopleNaglis Puteikis
Sigitas Karbauskas [lt]
Ramojus Girinskas
Chairman of the Political CouncilKristupas Krivickas
Chairwoman of the BoardRūta Zabielienė
Executive SecretaryAurelija Aleškevičienė
FoundedJune 1, 2003 (2003-06-01)
Split fromLithuanian Centre Union[1]
HeadquartersKaštonų g. 3, Vilnius, Lithuania
Membership3,977 (2 October 2019) [2]
Ideology
Political positionRight-wing to far-right[8][9][6]
European affiliationEurope of Sovereign Nations Party
European Parliament groupEurope of Sovereign Nations
Colours  Blue and   gold.
Yellow, green, red (until 2021)
Seimas
0 / 141
European Parliament
1 / 11
Municipal councils
7 / 1,498
Mayors
0 / 60
Website
tautateisingumas.lt

The People and Justice Union (Centrists, Nationalists) (Lithuanian: Tautos ir teisingumo sąjunga (centristai, tautininkai)) is a right-wing populist political party in Lithuania. It is currently not represented in the Seimas. The chairman of the party is Petras Gražulis.[10] Gražulis was impeached from the Lithuanian parliament in late 2023 and is not allowed, until 2033, to participate in any national elections.

History

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Background

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Logo as the Lithuanian Centre Party

The party was established as the National Centre Party (Lithuanian: Nacionalinė centro partija), before being renamed the Lithuanian Centre Party (Lietuvos Centro partija) in 2005.

In the parliamentary election of 2016, the Lithuanian Centre Party participated in a coalition (Anti-corruption coalition of Kristupas Krivickas and Naglis Puteikis) with the Lithuanian Pensioners' Party, and received 6.1% of the popular vote and one seat.[11] In the 2019 Lithuanian municipal elections, the Centre Party received 1.25% of votes nationwide and won municipal council seats in Klaipeda, Varena and Alytus (increasing the number of seats from 3 to 8).[12] During the 2019 election to the European Parliament the party received 5.13% of the national vote, but did not receive any representatives in the European Parliament.

Foundation

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On 26 October 2019, the Congress of the Lithuanian Centre Party decided to change the official name of the party to the Centre Party "Welfare Lithuania". The party fully supports the welfare state idea of the President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda. In 2020, the party's name was changed again, this time to the Centre Party – Nationalists. In 2021 it merged with the Lithuanian Nationalist and Republican Union to become the People and Justice Union.

The party nominated Petras Gražulis in the 2024 Lithuanian presidential election, but his candidacy was rejected due to a prior impeachment.[13][14]

The party operates an unofficial "Headquarter for the Reelection of Donald Trump in Lithuania", created in cooperation with members of the Lithuanian-American community. The party's chairman Gražulis is also the chairman of the headquarters.[15]

Platform

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According to the party's platform, the People and Justice Union

does not identify itself with any past or present ideology in Lithuania and operates as a national people's party. Guided by common sense and the good will of the Lithuanian people, in cooperation with interested national, confessional and social groups, it seeks, together with other political forces, the most favourable solutions for the development of the Lithuanian state and for Lithuania's consolidation in the world. The Party's main concern is to guarantee the positive participation of all national and international capital in the Lithuanian economy, the active and competitive functioning of medium and small capital, and the activities of the middle strata of society, entrepreneurs, security holders, farmers, science, culture and people of all intelligences.[16]

It defines itself as centre.[16] It has also been described as right-wing.[17][18] It is populist and claims that the state is under the control of an oligarchic clan, opposes LGBT rights, supports small and medium business and the creation of a national commercial bank.[19] It is soft Eurosceptic, demands the supremacy of national law over European law and describes the current system in the European Union as "a dictatorship of political correctness".[20]

Election results

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Seimas

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Election Leader Votes[a] % Seats +/– Government
2024 Petras Gražulis 17,218 1.41 (#14)
0 / 141
 New Extra-parliamentary

European Parliament

[edit]
Election List leader Votes % Seats +/– EP Group
2019 Antanas Guoga 64,595 5.13 (#8)
0 / 11
 New –
2024 Petras Gražulis 36,958 5.45 (#7)
1 / 11
 Increase 1 ESN

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Lietuvos centro sąjunga". Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian).
  2. ^ "LIETUVOS RESPUBLIKOSPOLITINIŲ PARTIJŲ SĄRAŠAS" (PDF). tm.lrv.lt. 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  3. ^ "Wenn am nächsten Sonntag Europawahl wäre (Februar 2018): EVP verliert deutlich, kleine Parteien legen zu". Der Föderalist. 5 February 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  4. ^ Paul Taggart; Andrea L. P. Pirro (16 April 2021). "European populism before the pandemic: ideology, Euroscepticism, electoral performance, and government participation of 63 parties in 30 countries". Italian Political Science Review/Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica. 51 (3): 281–304. doi:10.1017/ipo.2021.13. hdl:11585/902489. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  5. ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2020). "Lithuania". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  6. ^ a b Liesener, Leon Andrius (9 October 2020). "Lithuanian Parliamentary Elections: Two-Rounds, Zero Certainty". Europe Elects. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  7. ^ "The populist Far Right in Lithuania during Russia's war against Ukraine". ECPS. 4 March 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  8. ^ "AfD and allies form new far-right group: Europe of Sovereign Nations". 10 July 2024.
  9. ^ "The populist Far Right in Lithuania during Russia's war against Ukraine - ECPS". 4 March 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  10. ^ "Struktūra ir kontaktai". TTS (in Lithuanian). 12 April 2024. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  11. ^ "2016 m. Seimo rinkimų rezultatai - vrk.lt". www.vrk.lt.
  12. ^ "N. Puteikis: rinkimų lyderė yra Centro partija | Diena.lt". kauno.diena.lt. 4 March 2019.
  13. ^ "Lithuania's People and Justice Union names impeached MP as presidential candidate". lrt.lt. 12 February 2024. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  14. ^ "Gražulis skundžia VRK sprendimą atmesti jo prašymą dalyvauti prezidento rinkimuose". lrt.lt (in Lithuanian). 19 February 2024. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  15. ^ "P. GRAŽULIS IŠ BRIUSELIO DIRIGUOS D. TRUMPO RINKIMŲ ŠTABUI LIETUVOJE". Kauno diena (in Lithuanian). 14 June 2024.
  16. ^ a b "Programa". People and Justice Union (in Lithuanian).
  17. ^ "Will Lithuania contribute to far-right wave in EP?". LRT. 10 June 2024. Gražulis was running on the list of the right-wing Nation and Justice Union, a party without a group in the Seimas, and says he is planning to sit with the ECR group.
  18. ^ "Lithuania". Europe Elects.
  19. ^ "2020 m. spalio 11 d. Seimo rinkimai". Central Electoral Commission of Lithuania (in Lithuanian). 2020.
  20. ^ "2024 m. birželio 9 d. rinkimai į Europos Parlamentą". Central Electoral Commission of Lithuania (in Lithuanian). 2024.
  1. ^ Proportional representation votes.
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