“We must return to the idea of having judges on the National Electoral Commission; but first the system of appointing judges must be fixed to ensure their independence from politicians, Marshal of the Sejm Szymon Hołownia said at a press conference in Prague.
The National Electoral Commission rejected the PiS committee’s financial report for the 2023 parliamentary elections, alleging irregularities in PiS’s campaign financing to the tune of PLN 3.6 million. PiS funding will be reduced by PLN 10 million; the party may also be deprived of subsidies for 3 years.
The reasons for rejecting the PiS election report included: election activities during military picnics, a commercial by the Ministry of Justice or the conduct of an election campaign by employees of the State Legislation Centre (RCL). The party disagrees with this decision and has announced that it will go to court. A resolution of the National Electoral Commission rejecting the financial report can be appealed to the Supreme Court.
“This is not political revenge.”
Hołownia said that “if you do things similar to what we sometimes see in sports, namely taking steroids, instead of fair play, you have to bear the consequences and pay for taking steroids by taking away your medals and being disqualified.” According to him, “such a disqualification happened yesterday.”
What the further decisions of the National Electoral Commission will be, I do not know, of course, because this is not a politically controlled process, it is not political revenge, but simply drawing one-on-one consequences from what PiS has done.
– said Hołownia.
He added that PiS “thought it would govern for a third term and nothing would happen, but since it did not govern for a third term at the request of the Poles, it turned out that it had to pay for its mistakes.”
And that is what all the fuss is about today. But we also have to say clearly that the National Electoral Commission has done its job and it is good that it has done so
– he judged.
Judge of the National Electoral Commission
However, Hołownia pointed out that “there will probably come a time when we will have to talk about returning to the idea of a judge-based National Electoral Commission.” The Marshal of the Sejm recalled that “it was PiS that turned the judge-based National Electoral Commission into a commission elected by parliament.”
We have delegated the best specialists to the National Electoral Commission, they are not politicians. I have never had the pleasure of talking to anyone or meeting in any way anyone we have reported to the National Electoral Commission, because they are supposed to be professionals.
– he inquired.
Hołownia said that “perhaps we should return to the idea we had before and appoint judges to the National Electoral Commission” “so that no one will ever again formulate such unwise arguments as those formulated today by Law and Justice.”
“PiS is taking its toll today.”
However, Hołownia noted that “for this to happen, the system of appointing judges needs to be fixed to ensure that judges in Poland are completely independent of politicians.” The leader of Poland 2050 assessed that “PiS is today reaping what it has sown.”
PiS today sees the end of the spoiling, dismantling, politicizing and mixing of all areas of democracy.
– he added.
The Marshal of the Sejm also pointed out that “if there were no doubts about the status of the Extraordinary Chamber, there would be no doubts about how this process could end for Law and Justice.”
I understand that Minister (of Finance) Andrzej Domański, who will be at the end of this system, will be able to express reasonable doubts about whether the Chamber of Extraordinary Audit and Public Affairs is a court.
– he added.
Complaint to the Supreme Court
A complaint to the Supreme Court against the resolution of the National Electoral Commission can be filed by the financial representative of the commission within fourteen days after the decision of the National Electoral Commission has been served on him. The complaint announced by PiS will be considered by the Chamber of Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs of the Supreme Court, which is not recognized by international tribunals – so there are doubts about how this decision should be treated. According to the head of the Prime Minister’s Chancellery, Jan Grabiec, the resolution of the National Electoral Commission should remain in force until a final judicial decision is made again, the legitimacy of which is beyond doubt.
Hołownia said of PiS on Friday: “They caused all this themselves, they prepared it all for themselves, they caused this crisis themselves and now they have to drink it like a beer they brewed for themselves.”
I don’t know if they will learn from this. I hope so
– he added.
The leader of Poland 2050 also expressed the hope that after the change of the Polish president “we will begin to restore this whole process of spoiling the state and politicizing the state.” The presidential elections will take place in 2025.
Amendment of the Electoral Act
The amendment to the Electoral Code adopted at the end of 2017 included, among other things: the expiration of the term of office of the National Electoral Commission after the 2019 parliamentary elections and changes to the election method for the National Electoral Commission. Seven of its nine members will be appointed by the Sejm and not – as was previously the case – by the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Administrative Court and the Supreme Court.
Currently, the National Electoral Commission, in accordance with the Electoral Act, consists of: a judge of the Supreme Administrative Court, a judge of the Constitutional Court and seven persons appointed by the Sejm. Mirosław Suski and Arkadiusz Pikulik are members of the National Electoral Commission, recommended by PiS. The Civic Coalition appointed Konrad Składowski and Ryszard Balicki as members of the Commission. The National Electoral Commission also includes Maciej Kliś, appointed by PSL, Paweł Gieras, appointed by Polska 2050, and Ryszard Kalisz, appointed by the Left.
The NEC also includes: Judge Sylwester Marciniak of the High Administrative Court (Chairman of the NEC) and Judge Wojciech Sych of the Constitutional Court (Vice-Chairman of the NEC).
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nt/PAP
Source: wPolityce