Lithuanian president Rolandas Paksas impeached

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, April 07, 2004

Lithuanian president Rolandas Paksas impeached

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Lithuanian parliament speaker Arturas Paulauskas was appointed on Tuesday as the acting president shortly after the parliament voted to oust incumbent President Rolandas Paksas for violating the constitution, according to Lithuanian state television.

The parliament also appointed First Vice Speaker Ceslovas Jursenas, also vice chairman of Lithuanian Social Democratic Party,as the acting parliament speaker.

Paulauskas, 51, said he would try to promote the prestige of the president from the first day after his appointment as the acting president.

He said his major task was to guarantee a smooth transfer of power to the legally elected president.

He also noted that he had not decided whether to take part in the presidential elections.

It was reported that 86 parliament deputies had voted to impeach Paksas, narrowly passing the threshold of 85 votes needed in the 141-seat parliament to drive the president out of office. The parliament voted separately on the three charges against him.

Paksas was accused of illegally granting Lithuanian citizenshipto a Russian businessman with links to organized crime, who financed Paksas' presidential election campaign and of leaking classified information to the businessman.

He was also charged with abusing his authority in private business.

The Lithuanian Constitutional Court ruled last week that Paksaswas guilty of the three charges and gravely violated the constitution. The ruling paved the way for parliament to launch the impeachment process.

Paulauskas will stand in as acting president for two months until a presidential election is held in June.

Paulauskas, Lithuania's former prosecutor general, attended thepresidential elections in 1997 and 2002, but failed to win out. Hetook the post as parliament speaker on Oct. 19, 2000.

Source: Xinhua

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