“We all want to live in an orderly country, in a state where the law applies as it is written in the constitution and laws, and not as ‘we understand it’. Otherwise, instead of democracy, anarchy will prevail, in its classical form. Anyone who goes in this direction, even unconsciously, sows bad seeds. Poland could become a country on the map of Central and Eastern Europe where democracy has fallen asleep,” says Prof. Genowefa Grabowska, an expert in international and European law.
Yesterday, the National Electoral Commission rejected Law and Justice’s financial report. The subsidy for the commission will be reduced by PLN 10 million! As for the subsidy, the party can be deprived of it for three years. The largest opposition force announced yesterday that it will appeal the resolution to the Supreme Court.
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““Poles have the right to know why such a decision was taken.”
The wPolityce.pl portal asked Prof. Genowefa Grabowska, expert in international and European law, for comments on this issue.
Of course, we need to know the written justification of the decision of the National Electoral Commission. However, the oral explanations that we have heard and the material that has been analysed by the National Electoral Commission show a picture that is very hostile to the rules of democracy. This shows that they can be used selectively. Interpret them differently towards the groups whose reports were accepted and differently towards the opposition. The fact is that the National Electoral Commission took this decision, which was postponed several times, in circumstances that were far from democratic norms. It operated under enormous political pressure and in conditions of enormous intensification on the part of the government. It was flooded with hundreds of different pieces of information that were incriminating PiS, but it is not a public prosecutor’s office and its role is not to check this.
– says Prof. Grabowska.
Poles have the right to know why such a decision was taken and what expenses the National Election Commission has classified as unacceptable. Then it will be possible to compare it with the situation of other groups, to investigate whether “as rumor has it” they did not act in a similar way by spending public money – including local government money – on events related to election campaigns.
– she added.
Why is the opposition necessary?
This is a form of hypocrisy. So far, there has not been such a strong political polarization, where revenge and revenge are the main fuel. I am sorry to say it, but unfortunately it is so. The personal attitude of the wounded leader of the current ruling party leads to caricatured relations with other political parties. In civilized, democratic countries, opposition is necessary, which does not exclude disputes and fierce struggles against it. But it is fought with instruments permitted by law, so that it can appear on the political stage. But in authoritarian, undemocratic countries, anyone who wants to destroy the opposition simply puts it in jail.
– says the interlocutor of the wPolityce.pl portal, referring to the attitude of the current authorities.
There is also a new approach in the fight against the opposition, which we are currently observing in Poland: the method of “financial starvation”. Its use against Poland for the benefit of the European institutions was proposed by the Vice-President of the European Parliament, German MEP Katarina Barley, calls for non-payment of KPO funds to Poland. Now the largest opposition group will be “starved” in the same way. Nevertheless, there is no democratic state without a political opposition. Anyone who does not understand this does not understand the essence of democracy and will sooner or later fall into the trap
– he adds.
“The future judgment of the Supreme Court will have to be implemented.”
We also asked Professor Genowefa Grabowska to comment on the statement of Justice Minister Adam Bodnar, who stated that if PiS appeals the Electoral Commission’s decision to the Chamber for Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs of the Supreme Court, the current authorities will have a possible ruling favorable to the party.
This is a terrible statement, especially coming from the former Commissioner for Human Rights and a lawyer who should understand the law. Don’t just interpret it politically, as his boss understands it. The statement of the Ministry of Justice is in my opinion an insult to the democratic rule of law. At least I would advise Bodnar to calmly reread what he said, because they don’t believe that he deliberately called on the Minister of Finance to behave illegally! He did something he shouldn’t have done, something he shouldn’t have done. Calling for the disregard of a Supreme Court ruling that may be politically undesirable is a violation of the applicable law, and this is a crime. This is an act that is contrary to the constitutional rules of democracy
– says the expert.
The Supreme Court’s verdict must be respected. After all, it will be taken by the same Chamber of Extraordinary Control that announced the validity of the 2023 elections. We cannot welcome one decision of the same Chamber and ignore the next, because we have a political distance from the matter. The future verdict of the Supreme Court IKN will have to be implemented, regardless of who likes it and who doesn’t. I think that those in power, after the emotions have cooled down, will also come to the same conclusion. After all, we all want to live in an orderly country, in a state where the law applies as it is written in the Constitution and laws, and not as “we understand it”. Otherwise, instead of democracy, anarchy will prevail, in its classical form. Anyone who goes in this direction, even unconsciously, is sowing bad seeds. Poland could become a country on the map of Central and Eastern Europe where democracy has fallen asleep
– sums up prof. Grabowska.
READ ALSO: How different! Tusk: I am very satisfied with the decision of the National Electoral Commission. Hard work yielded results. It would be difficult to expect a different verdict
Source: wPolityce