Signatures of 32 parliamentarians in support of the interpellation were collected over the afternoon. As required by the Seimas statute, the document has been sent to the parliamentary speaker who immediately registered it at the secretariat.
The initiators had to collect at least 29 signatures in Lithuania's 141-member parliament to start the process.
The interpellation initiative as supported by members of the Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats, Christian Party and the mixed group.
The signatures were collected by members of the parliamentary Anti-Corruption Commission, which had offered its conclusions on dismissal of top officers of the Financial Crimes Investigation Service. Conservative MP Naglis Puteikis said that questions for the minister were selected based on the commission's conclusions regarding the dismissal.
The minister under interpellation is to provide answers within two weeks before they are discussed at a Seimas plenary - the parliament is to either approve or reject the minister's replies. Should the answers be found unsatisfactory by the majority, the draft resolution on no-confidence may be passed in secret ballot with support of 71 out of 141 parliamentarians.
If the resolution is adopted, the minister must resign.
After probing the circumstances of dismissal of the FCIS chiefs, the Anti-Corruption Commission ruled that the minister sacked the two officers without a valid reason and could have had personal or party motives for removing the two. Palaitis has denied the accusations, saying he did the right thing and followed the law.
Palaitis dismissed the two top officials of the Financial Crime Investigation Service, Vitalijus Gailius and Vytautas Giržadas, on 15 February, after a recommendation from the State Security Department. The department was investigating possible leak of information about Snoras bank shortly before its nationalization.
