Article 77
The President of the Republic shall be the Head of State.
The President of the Republic shall represent the State of Lithuania and shall perform everything with which he is charged by the Constitution and laws.
Chapter VI. The President of the Republic
Article 78
A Lithuanian citizen by descent who has lived in Lithuania for not less than the last three years, provided that he has reached the age of not less than 40 prior to the election day and may stand for election as a Member of the Seimas, may stand for election as the President of the Republic.
The President of the Republic shall be elected by the citizens of the Republic of Lithuania for a five-year term by universal, equal, and direct suffrage by secret ballot.
The same person may not be elected the President of the Republic for more than two consecutive terms.
Article 79
Any citizen of the Republic of Lithuania who meets the conditions set forth in the first paragraph of Article 78 and collects the signatures of not less than 20,000 voters shall be registered as a presidential candidate.
The number of candidates for the post of the President of the Republic shall not be limited.
Article 80
A regular election of the President of the Republic shall be held on the last Sunday two months before the expiry of the term of office of the President of the Republic.
Article 81
The candidate for the post of the President of the Republic who, during the first round of voting in which not less than half of all the voters participate, receives the votes of more than half of all the voters who participate in the election shall be deemed elected. If less than half of all the voters participate in the election, the candidate who receives the greatest number of votes, but not less than 1/3 of the votes of all the voters, shall be deemed elected.
If, during the first round of voting, no single candidate gets the requisite number of votes, the second round of voting shall be held two weeks later with the two candidates who have received the greatest number of votes standing against each other. The candidate who receives more votes shall be deemed elected.
If no more than two candidates take part in the first round, and neither of them receives the requisite number of votes, a repeat election shall be held.
Article 82
On the day following the expiry of the term of office of the President of the Republic, the elected President of the Republic shall take office after he, in Vilnius, in the presence of the representatives of the Nation—the Members of the Seimas, takes an oath to the Nation to be faithful to the Republic of Lithuania and the Constitution, to conscientiously fulfil the duties of his office, and to be equally just to all.
A re-elected President of the Republic shall also take the oath.
The act on taking the oath of the President of the Republic shall be signed by him and by the President of the Constitutional Court or, in the absence of the latter, by a justice of the Constitutional Court.
Article 83
The President of the Republic may not be a Member of the Seimas, may not hold any other office, and may not receive any remuneration other than the remuneration established for the President of the Republic and remuneration for creative activities.
A person elected the President of the Republic must suspend his activities in political parties and political organisations until the beginning of a new campaign for the election of the President of the Republic.
Article 84
The President of the Republic:
1) shall decide the basic issues of foreign policy and, together with the Government, conduct foreign policy;
2) shall sign international treaties of the Republic of Lithuania and submit them to the Seimas for ratification;
3) shall, upon submission by the Government, appoint and recall the diplomatic representatives of the Republic of Lithuania to foreign states and international organisations; shall receive the letters of credence and recall of the diplomatic representatives of foreign states; and shall confer the highest diplomatic ranks and special titles;
4) shall, upon the assent of the Seimas, appoint the Prime Minister; shall charge the Prime Minister with forming the Government; and shall approve the composition of the formed Government;
5) shall, upon the assent of the Seimas, release the Prime Minister from duties;
6) shall accept the powers returned by the Government upon the election of a new Seimas and charge the Government with exercising its duties until a new Government is formed;
7) shall accept the resignation of the Government and, when necessary, charge it with continuing to exercise its duties, or charge one of the Ministers with exercising the duties of the Prime Minister, until a new Government is formed; shall accept the resignations of Ministers and may charge them with exercising their duties until a new respective Minister is appointed;
8) shall, upon the resignation of the Government or after it returns its powers, within 15 days, propose the candidate for the post of the Prime Minister for consideration by the Seimas;
9) shall appoint and release Ministers upon submission by the Prime Minister;
10) shall, according to the established procedure, appoint and release state officials provided for by law;
11) shall propose candidates for the posts of the justices of the Supreme Court for consideration by the Seimas and, upon the appointment of all the justices of the Supreme Court, propose the candidate from among them for the post of the President of the Supreme Court to be appointed by the Seimas; shall appoint the judges of the Court of Appeal and, from among them, the President of the Court of Appeal, provided that the Seimas gives its assent to the candidates proposed; shall appoint the judges and presidents of regional and local courts and change their places of work; in cases provided for by law, shall submit that the Seimas release judges from their duties; shall, upon the assent of the Seimas, appoint and release the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Lithuania;
12) shall propose candidates for the posts of three justices of the Constitutional Court and, upon the appointment of all the justices of the Constitutional Court, propose the candidate from among them for the post of the President of the Constitutional Court to be appointed by the Seimas;
13) shall propose candidates for the posts of the Auditor General and the Chairperson of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania for consideration by the Seimas; may submit that the Seimas express no confidence in them;
14) shall, upon the assent of the Seimas, appoint and release the Commander of the Armed Forces and the Head of the Security Service;
15) shall confer the highest military ranks;
16) shall, in the event of an armed attack threatening the sovereignty of the State or its territorial integrity, adopt decisions concerning defence against the armed aggression, the imposition of martial law, as well as mobilisation, and submit these decisions for approval at the next sitting of the Seimas;
17) shall declare a state of emergency according to the procedure and in cases established by law and present this decision for approval at the next sitting of the Seimas;
18) shall make annual reports at the Seimas on the situation in Lithuania and the domestic and foreign policies of the Republic of Lithuania;
19) shall, in cases provided for in the Constitution, convene an extraordinary session of the Seimas;
20) shall call regular elections to the Seimas and, in cases provided for in the second paragraph of Article 58 of the Constitution, call early elections to the Seimas;
21) shall grant citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania according to the procedure established by law;
22) shall confer state awards;
23) shall grant pardons to convicted persons;
24) shall sign and promulgate laws adopted by the Seimas or refer them back to the Seimas according to the procedure established in Article 71 of the Constitution.
Article 85
The President of the Republic, implementing the powers vested in him, shall issue acts-decrees. To be valid, the decrees issued by the President of the Republic for the purposes specified in Items 3, 15, 17, and 21 of Article 84 of the Constitution must be signed by the Prime Minister or an appropriate Minister. Responsibility for such a decree shall lie with the Prime Minister or the Minister who signs it.
Article 86
The person of the President of the Republic shall be inviolable: while in office, he may be neither detained nor held criminally or administratively liable.
The President of the Republic may be removed from office only for a gross violation of the Constitution or a breach of the oath, or when he is found to have committed a crime. The issue of the removal of the President of the Republic from office shall be decided by the Seimas according to the procedure for impeachment proceedings.
Article 87
After, in cases provided for in the second paragraph of Article 58 of the Constitution, the President of the Republic calls an early election to the Seimas, the newly elected Seimas may, by a 3/5 majority vote of all the Members of the Seimas and within 30 days of the day of the first sitting, call an early election of the President of the Republic.
The President of the Republic wishing to participate in the election shall be immediately registered as a candidate.
The President of the Republic re-elected in such an election shall be deemed elected for the second term of office provided that more than three years of his first term of office have expired prior to the election. If less than three years of the first term of office have expired, the President of the Republic shall only be elected for the remainder of the first term of office, which shall not be considered the second term of office.
If an early election of the President of the Republic is called during his second term of office, the incumbent President of the Republic may only be elected for the remainder of the second term of office.
Article 88
The powers of the President of the Republic shall cease:
1) upon the expiry of the period for which he is elected;
2) after an early election of the President of the Republic takes place;
3) upon his resignation from office;
4) upon his death;
5) when the Seimas removes him from office according to the procedure for impeachment proceedings;
6) when the Seimas, taking into consideration the conclusion of the Constitutional Court, by a 3/5 majority vote of all the Members of the Seimas, adopts a resolution stating that the state of health of the President of the Republic does not allow him to hold office.
Article 89
In the event that the President of the Republic dies, resigns, or is removed from office according to the procedure for impeachment proceedings, or the Seimas decides that the state of health of the President of the Republic does not allow him to hold office, the office of the President of the Republic shall temporarily be held by the Speaker of the Seimas. In such a case, the Speaker of the Seimas shall lose his powers at the Seimas, and his office shall temporarily be held, upon commissioning by the Seimas, by his Deputy. In the enumerated cases, the Seimas must, within 10 days, call an election of the President of the Republic, which must be held within two months. If the Seimas cannot convene and call the election of the President of the Republic, the election shall be called by the Government.
The Speaker of the Seimas shall substitute for the President of the Republic when the latter is temporarily abroad or falls ill and, for this reason, is temporarily unable to hold office.
While temporarily substituting for the President of the Republic, the Speaker of the Seimas may neither call an early election to the Seimas nor appoint or release Ministers without the consent of the Seimas. During the said period, the Seimas may not consider the issue of no confidence in the Speaker of the Seimas.
With the exception of the cases specified in this Article, the powers of the President of the Republic may not be executed by any other persons or institutions.
Article 90
The President of the Republic shall have a residence. The financing of the President of the Republic and of his residence shall be established by law.