VILNIUS, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Approximately 5,000 people gathered at Independence Square in Vilnius near the parliament building, urging the parliament to disband, local news agency ELTA reported on Thursday.
The protest followed the unsuccessful impeachment two days ago of lawmaker Mindaugas Bastys, who was accused of allegedly cooperating with foreign intelligence and security officers, as well as criminal figures.
The organizers claimed that the parliament "cowardly shielded behind secret ballot and trampled the ruling of the Constitutional Court thus finally discrediting itself".
Journalist Andrius Tapinas, the initiator of the protest, told the crowd -- mostly the young and the elderly -- that incumbent MPs were not serving the people.
On Tuesday, 72 lawmakers voted in a secret ballot in favor of removing Bastys from office, while 21 voted against this and 24 abstained, 11 ballots were invalid. But at least 85 votes were needed to remove him from the parliament.
The next day, Bastys announced he decided to abandon his parliamentary mandate, prompting four Lithuania's opposition parties to call for an early election.
According to the draft resolution prepared by the opposition parties, early election would take place on June 3.
The current Lithuania's parliament was elected in October 2016.
