According to information available to BNS, the candidate was supported by 106 of Lithuania's 141 parliamentarians, 11 were against and 10 abstained. Before the secret ballot, support to Pasilis was pledged by heads of both ruling and opposition political groups.
Under the Constitution, the prosecutor general is appointed and dismissed by the president upon th approval of the parliament. Earlier this year, Lithuania's parliament voted down two candidates proposed by the president for prosecutor general.
Nominated by Grybauskaite last week, Pasilis has 15 years of experience as a judge. He started his career in Ukmerge in 1999 and was the chairman of the city's court in 2007-2012.
The candidate acquired his qualification as a lawyer at the Lithuanian Police Academy and Vilnius University, has worked as junior inspector at the Ukmerge District Police Commissariat and as inspector at the Customs Police Department's Vilnius division.
This is the 3rd attempt to appoint a new prosecutor general. In early October, MPs rejected the bid to appoint Kaisiadorys District Court Chairwoman Edita Dambrauskiene for the post after voting down the candidacy of Kaunas Regional Court Chairman Nerijus Meilutis last summer. With no prosecutor general appointed, the Prosecutor General's Office is currently headed by Deputy Prosecutor General Darius Raulusaitis.
