A four-part referendum was held in

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

on 20 October 1996 alongside the first round of

parliamentary elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An expe ...

& Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1201 Voters were asked whether they approved of three amendments to the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

and whether money from the sale of state property should be used to compensate those who lost their Soviet-era savings due to

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reductio ...

.Nohlen & Stöver, p1211 The three constitutional amendments would reduce the number of members of the

Seimas The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublikos Seimas), or simply the Seimas (), is the unicameral parliament of Lithuania. The Seimas constitutes the legislative branch of government in Lithuania, enacting laws and amendmen ...

, fix the date for elections to be in the spring, and to reserve at least 50% of government expenditure to social spending. Although all four were approved by at least 76% of those casting valid votes, voter turnout was only 52-53%, meaning that the threshold of 50% of all registered voters voting in favour was not passed, and the referendums failed.

Results

Constitutional amendment on reducing the number of members of the Seimas

Constitutional amendment on fixing the election date in spring

Constitutional amendment on social spending

Using the proceeds of privatisation to compensate savers

References

{{Lithuanian elections 1996 referendums 1996 in Lithuania Referendums in Lithuania