The proposal was favoured by 18 councillors against three, with two abstentions. One councillor did not take part in the vote.
The new acting mayor is also standing for election to the Seimas scheduled for 13 October. The opposition criticised Sinkevičius’ bid as not ethical.
„We have never had a mayor who has been convicted and removed from office before. Personally, I have nothing against my colleague Rimantas Sinkevičius (&) However, this is a father replacing his convicted son, and I will not support his decision,“ Conservative Dovilė Survilaitė said at the sitting.
Remigijus Osauskas, councillor of the Mūsų Jonava political committee, urged Sinkevičius to decide whether he wants to be a mayor or an MP.
The Social Democrats hold a majority in the council – 17 seats out of 25.
Last week the Court of Appeal upheld the judgment of the court of lower instance which found Mindaugas Sinkevičius guilty of document forgery and misappropriation of property. He was barred from holding a position in state institutions for three years.
On 20 September, the VRK revoked the mayor’s mandate and removed him from the list of candidates in 2024 parliamentary elections. Sinkevičius was a candidate of the Social Democratic Party (LSDP).
A pre-trial investigation by the Special Investigation Service (STT) had found that in 2019-2023 Mayor Sinkevičius might have caused EUR 1,487 in monetary damage to Jonava District Municipal Administration by misusing allowance granted for the activities of a municipal councillor.