Eduardas Vaitkus

Vaitkus has run for election to the Seimas two times, with the Labour Party in the 2008 parliamentary election,^[5] and with the Way of Courage in the 2020 parliamentary election,^[6] both times unsuccessfully.

Since 2021, he has actively campaigned against vaccination and participated in numerous protests.^{[citation needed]} On 18 September 2021, speaking in a protest organized by Astra Genovaitė Astrauskaitė in Vilnius, he stated that "vaccinating children is a crime. The ratio of benefit to harm is not entirely clear and it is more likely that the harm is greater".^[7]

In July 2021, he established the Centre of the Lithuanian People's Resistance to Occupation (Lithuanian: Lietuvos gyventojų pasipriešinimo okupacijai centras), a political group unifying several anti-establishment and pro-Russian figures, and was one of the founders of Dawn of Justice, an unregistered party led by Algirdas Paleckis.^[8] His political group claims that the Government of Lithuania has violated the constitution and has established a dictatorship, and calls for the establishment of a special counsel system, referendum on membership in NATO and the European Union, etc.^[9]

He has called to deport Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya to Belarus, described the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a proxy war instigated by the United States and stated that Lithuania joined the European Union "in a fraudulent manner".^[1] He has been accused of pro-Russian views by other anti-establishment and Eurosceptic leaders, such as Nida Vasiliauskaitė, who claimed that he intends to "turn Lithuania into a Russian protectorate".^{[10][unreliable source?]} He claimed that Lithuania could leave NATO "in a single year" and that doing so would leave Lithuania safer. He claimed that he would begin separate negotiations with Russia about prevention of conflicts in Europe if elected president.^[11]

On 6 September 2023, he announced his run for President of Lithuania, stating that he intends to establish a "dictatorship of law" and unveil agents of foreign intelligence services in the Lithuanian government.^[12] On 26 March 2024, the Central Election Commission of Lithuania announced that it will not print Vaitkus' election program in the election information handbook, as several of its statements, such as disparaging claims towards Ukrainians in Lithuania and NATO, violated the Election Code.^[13] After a court order annulled their decision, the commission agreed to print an edited version of the program.^[14]

In 2024, he unsuccessfully led the Lithuanian People's Party ticket in 2024 parliamentary election.^[15]

Vaitkus expressed nostalgic views towards the Cold War period due to a perceived balance of safety and security between the world superpowers. According to him in 2024, now we are living closer to world's destruction then during the Cuban Missile Crisis.^[16]

Vaitkus holds many controversial and factually inaccurate views. In multiple media interviews, Vaitkus has claimed that Lithuania never joined European Union, disregarding Lithuania's EU referendum and Lithuania's accession process that took almost a decade.^[17] He has also claimed, without providing any evidence, that United Kingdom threatened to launch a nuclear attack on Russia in the autumn of 2021.^[18]

Vaitkus has also claimed, without providing evidence, that Lithuanian presidents Dalia Grybauskaitė and Gitanas Nausėda were trying to start a war with Russia.^[19] More than two years into Russian invasion of Ukraine, he claimed that the war was started by western countries and that Russian President Vladimir Putin does what any leader should do.^[20] Vaitkus has also claimed that 5G networks are a beginning to the procurement of mind-controlling technology.^[21]