Protests against the validity of elections for the Sejm and the Senate must be submitted in writing to the Supreme Court within seven days of the announcement of the results by the National Electoral Commission in the Journal of Laws. It is not possible to effectively lodge a protest before the election results have been announced. Similar provisions apply to filing protests against the referendum.
Protests against the validity of the elections
Regulations regarding this can be found in Chapter 8 of the Electoral Act. Recently, the Supreme Court issued a statement on the procedure for filing protests against the validity of the elections.
According to the regulations, election protests must be submitted in writing to the Supreme Court within seven days from the date of announcement of the election results by the National Electoral Commission in the Journal of Laws. It is not possible to effectively lodge a protest before the election results have been announced.
The National Electoral Commission announced the official results of the elections for the Sejm and the Senate during an evening press conference on Tuesday; now they are to be published in the Journal of Laws.
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How to file an election protest?
One way to file an election protest is to file it directly with the Supreme Court. You can do this at the Customer Service Point, stand 0N39 on pl. Krasińskich 2/4/6 from Monday to Friday from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm While protests were being filed, the Supreme Court introduced special provisions for people with special needs.
An election protest can also be sent to a Polish post office. It is possible to send a protest to another operator. However, it must be filed with the Supreme Court within seven days of the announcement of the election results in the Journal of Laws.
Voters staying abroad or on a Polish seagoing vessel can, in turn, lodge a protest with the territorially competent consul or ship’s captain, respectively. You must then attach to the protest a notice of the appointment of your resident representative or a resident representative for service. A protest sent to the consul by foreign mail or courier must reach the consular office before the deadline for filing a protest has passed.
The right to lodge an electoral protest rests with the voter, the electoral representative and the chairman of the relevant electoral commission. The protest must be submitted in writing. It is unacceptable to file an election protest in any other form, for example, by fax, email, ePUAP.
Formal requirements
For an election protest to be recognized, the formal requirements of the Electoral Act must be met; the protest must also comply with the general conditions of a procedural document stated in the Code of Civil Procedure.
This concerns in particular:
— identification of the entity filing the protest, including address and PESEL number;
— indication in which of the voting districts within a given constituency the first and last name of the person submitting the protest were on the voters’ list;
— designation of the representative and his address (the protest must be accompanied by a power of attorney);
— application for annulment of elections/elections in a particular constituency/election of a deputy/election of a senator;
— accusations;
— presentation or indication of the evidence on which the allegations are based;
— justification of the accusations;
— handwritten signature of the complainant or his representative.
The Supreme Court can dismiss the protest without further proceedings, which means that the protest cannot be substantively processed for formal reasons. These are situations where the protest is filed by an unauthorized person or does not meet the formal conditions. The Supreme Court also leaves without further action a protest on a matter in respect of which the Electoral Act provides for the possibility of filing a complaint or appealing to a court or to the National Electoral Commission before voting day.
If the protest meets the formal conditions, the Supreme Court will rule on it. The judge may rule that the protest is unfounded or justified. In the latter case, the Supreme Court indicates whether the irregularities found had an impact on the election results.
After considering all electoral protests, the entire composition of the Chamber for Extraordinary Scrutiny and Public Affairs of the Supreme Court, on the basis of the report of the National Electoral Commission on the elections and the opinions of the three panels on individual protests, decides on the validity of the elections. elections. The Supreme Court will decide on this in a public hearing no later than 90 days after election day.
Protests against the referendum after its results were published in the Journal of Laws
Protests against the validity of the referendum must be submitted in writing to the Supreme Court within seven days of the announcement of the referendum result by the National Electoral Commission in the Journal of Laws. It is not possible to effectively file a protest before the referendum result has been announced.
Regulations regarding protests against the validity of the referendum are contained in Chapter 5 of the National Referendum Act. Recently, the Supreme Court issued a notice on the procedure for filing protests against the validity of the referendum, which is available on the Supreme Court’s website.
A protest against the validity of the referendum can be lodged directly at the customer service point in the Supreme Court building from Monday to Friday. 8:30 AM–3:30 PM. You can also post your protest at a Poczta Polska post office. “A protest sent by another operator must reach the Supreme Court before the deadline for filing it. Therefore, sending the protest, for example by courier, does not guarantee that the filing deadline will be met,” the Supreme Court noted.
Voters staying abroad or on a Polish ship can, in turn, lodge a protest against the validity of the referendum with the territorially competent consul or ship’s captain. Such electors must attach to the protest a notice of the appointment of their resident representative or resident representative for service. A protest sent to the consul by foreign mail or courier must reach the consular office before the deadline for filing a protest has passed.
The right to protest the validity of the referendum is only available to persons authorized to participate in the referendum, chairmen of district referendum committees and entities authorized to participate in the referendum campaign. Complainants are not obliged to appoint a professional representative (lawyer, legal advisor) and can lodge a personal protest.
How can you protest against the referendum?
A protest against the validity of the referendum must be submitted in writing. It is unacceptable to submit a protest in any form other than in writing, for example, by fax, email, ePUAP.
The protest must meet formal requirements, in particular:
— identification of the entity filing the protest, including address and PESEL number;
— designation of the representative and his address – if one has been appointed (the protest must be accompanied by a power of attorney);
— application for annulment of the referendum or referendum in the district;
— accusations;
— presentation or indication of the evidence on which the allegations are based;
— justification of the accusations;
— handwritten signature of the complainant or his representative.
In addition, if a person entitled to participate in a referendum lodges a protest against the validity of the referendum for violation of the provisions governing voting or the determination of the voting result in the circuit or by the electoral commissioner, the protest must be contain an indication in which of the voting circuits or in the jurisdiction of which the electoral commissioner is included in the list of persons entitled to participate in the referendum, the first and last name of the demonstrator is included.
However, if the protest is lodged by a person residing abroad or on a Polish seagoing vessel, the protest must additionally contain the designation of the representative residing in Poland or of the representative for duty residing in Poland, together with their addresses and the associated power of attorney. lawyer document.
The Supreme Court’s Trial Path
The Supreme Court hears protests in a three-judge panel. As a rule, protests are heard during closed hearings attended only by judges, with no third parties allowed to participate. For important reasons, protests may be referred to a public hearing.
If the protest meets the formal conditions, its handling ends with a ruling in which the Supreme Court issues a judgment on the protest. The Supreme Court may rule that the protest is unfounded or justified. When expressing an opinion on the validity of the protest accusations, it is indicated whether or not the irregularities found influenced the outcome of the referendum.
Ultimately, the Supreme Court, consisting of the full Chamber for Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs, decides on the validity of the referendum, based on the voting report of the National Electoral Commission and the opinions issued in response to the recognized protests. The decision will take the form of a resolution, to be issued no later than the 60th day after the announcement of the referendum result at an open meeting with the participation of the Attorney General and the Chairman of the National Electoral Commission.
The National Electoral Commission announced the official results of Sunday’s referendum during an evening press conference on Tuesday; now they must be announced in the Journal of Laws.
The Supreme Court’s ruling on the validity of a referendum is not related to the question of the binding or non-binding outcome of this referendum. The referendum turnout was 40.91 percent; its results are therefore not binding. The referendum result is binding if more than half of those entitled to vote go to the polls.
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wkt/PAP
Source: wPolityce