VILNIUS, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Referendums on constitutional amendments to expand dual citizenship for Lithuanians living abroad and to decrease the number of parliament members failed in Lithuania on Monday.
After counting votes from all 1,972 polling stations, 52.58 percent of all registered voters participated in the referendum on the amendment to allow dual citizenship in Lithuania, according to data provided by the Central Electoral Commission (VRK) on Monday.
Though 71.78 percent of the turnouts supported the expansion of dual citizenship and 26.04 percent voted against, the referendum failed to amend the constitution and implement the dual citizenship, since only 0.93 million citizens voted for the amendment.
According to the Lithuanian laws, the necessary threshold to a constitutional amendment is more than half of all registered voters, or 1.24 million citizens, voting in favor of the proposal.
"Probably we will have to do this again the same way. The ruling Farmers and Greens Union has discredited the referendum with their unpreparedness," said Gabrielius Landsbergis, the leader of the Homeland Union-Christian Democrats, the largest Lithuanian opposition party.
The referendum on whether to downsize the number of the parliament members from 141 to 121 also failed due to a turnout result below the 50 percent threshold.
According to data by the VRK, 47.25 percent of all registered voters attended the referendum, and 73.7 percent of them supported the proposal while 23.07 voted against.
The two referendums in Lithuania, a small Baltic country with a population of almost 3 million, were held on Sunday alongside with the country's presidential election.
