Lithuanian Sejmas adopted regulations and elected chairman of the impeachment procedure

At its emergency plenary session March 5 the Lithuanian Sejmas adopted regulations and elected chairman of the impeachment procedure against incumbent president Rolandas Paksas. The procedure is to begin at a Sejmas session on March 8. The initiative to launch the impeachment procedure came after the materials of the State Security Department were published last October. According to the materials, some people from Mr. Paksas's team allegedly have ties with "international criminals." Mr. Paksas himself is being indicted for "brutal violations of the oath and Constitution." In particular, the supporters of the president's dismissal insist that the Lithuanian president granted the Lithuanian citizenship to his sponsor Yuri Borisov as a reward for the financial assistance Mr. Borisov had provided during the election campaign. The president has repeatedly claimed to have never violated the law. Constitutional Court is checking the substantiation of the charges leveled by a special parliamentary commission set up on December 29 for the impeachment of the Lithuanian leader.