agenda
The parliamentary investigative panel focusing on the so-called 2020 envelope elections opened with statements about who would testify. The first witness set to be examined is Jarosław Gowin, a former deputy prime minister in the governing coalition led by PiS. Also expected to advise the committee is an infectious disease expert, Professor Robert Flisiak. Reporters are encouraged to follow coverage on the news site wPolityce.pl.
agenda details
Member of parliament Dariusz Joński of the KO outlined the plan. The questions would begin with the chairman of the Polish Association of Epidemiologists and Doctors of Infectious Diseases, the appointed expert Professor Robert Flisiak.
Paweł Jabłoński emphasized that every question needed to be recorded in the minutes. He noted that the committee had received an email preview of the Senate’s advice, but the scan was inaccurate, and he asked for a correct copy to be provided.
Joński assured that everyone would be allowed to ask, but noted that the order mattered.
Professor Czarnek formally requested alternating questions. He also asked that microphones stay on until his questions were completed, prompting Joński to allege that the lawmaker from PiS was abusing formal rights.
The request to alter the meeting method by Przemysław Czarnek was rejected.
Processing requests for evidence
Jacek Karnowski presented documents submitted by Karnowski, Joński, and Filiks.
The initial motion from the KO bloc included a Marshal’s resolution ordering the presidential elections, a National Electoral Commission decision, information from the Supreme Audit Office, a bill, expert opinions, transcripts from committee and subcommittee meetings, and all related documents. The politicians also asked for papers connected to the special rules governing the presidential elections in Poland.
The committee also received a request from MP Kucharska-Dziedzic to summon Henryk Kowalczyk for testimony. She argued that Kowalczyk had previously chaired the Public Finance Committee.
The left-wing MP also proposed calling Łukasz Schreiber of PiS, noting that he held a ministerial role in the Prime Minister’s Chancellery during the period in question and was connected to the so-called Shield 2.0 project.
Waldemar Buda, speaking for the PiS group, submitted a motion to call Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, Rafał Trzaskowski, and Borys Budka as witnesses.
These names were chosen because they were viewed as key players who, according to the motion, helped ensure that the May 9 elections did not take place. Budka reportedly met Gowin, and the question was which parties gained politically from the postponement.
Jabłoński defended each colleague and argued that evidence requests should stay within the committee’s remit. Professor Czarnek contended that Joński had stalled progress by opposing certain motions. Magdalena Filiks filed a formal motion to approve the approach so as to prevent repeating the same witness interviews, while a counter-motion came from Jabłoński.
It was noted that Kowalczyk and Witek were not ministers at the time in question. While they could be questioned, there was uncertainty about the rationale for delaying other key witnesses. Filiks’s request faced legal questions, and it was decided that witness interviews would take place once sufficient evidence had been gathered. If testimony from other witnesses indicated a need to hear still more people, any member could request additional testimony until the committee finished its work.
Jabłoński argued for moving forward, and Joński suggested ending the discussion rather than prolonging a debate about the debate itself.
The proposal to call Łukasz Schreiber as a witness received unanimous backing, as did the proposal to call Henryk Kowalczyk. The motion to summon Kidawa-Błońska, Trzaskowski, and Budka was rejected with the coalition voting against.
Appointment of advisors for committee work
PiS MP Mariusz Krystian proposed Paweł Cioch, a doctor of law, as an advisor. Witold Tumanowicz suggested Jakub Kalus, a law graduate from the University of Silesia in Katowice. Professor Czarnek announced Dr. Michał Skwarzyński, a lawyer and assistant professor at the Catholic University of Lublin, as another advisor. No objections were raised to these candidates.
Interrogation of Professor Robert Flisiak
Professor Robert Flisiak, president of the Polish Association of Epidemiologists and Infectious Disease Doctors, was set to be the first to be questioned. He did not appoint a representative. Jabłoński requested that the minutes record that two legal opinions had been sought about Flisiak’s hearing. Flisiak stated that he had never been punished for false testimony and that he exercised his right to freedom of expression.
The discussion then pivoted to the April–May 2020 period, when debates about the committee’s activities began to surface in Poland. The expert restricted the focus to Poland and Europe, noting that registered case numbers ranged from 250 to 590 during that period and deaths from 4 to 40. He emphasized that these figures were low in part because Poland’s diagnostic capacity was limited at the time and that the death toll was higher than in the present. A summit had taken place in Poland in early June, and Italy faced the worst of the outbreak in Europe around mid-May. Flisiak pointed out that Poland recorded relatively few cases partly because there was still one month to prepare, and he proposed a timetable for restricting movement and activities. He added that trends worsened in July and cautioned that the election might not have influenced the trajectory, but there was no evidence to prove a connection. He recalled that the rise in cases since September 2020 accelerated as restrictions were eased.
Investigation committee tasks
Last December, the parliamentary investigative committee created to examine the envelope elections of 2020 decided to summon several figures, including Jarosław Gowin, Elżbieta Witek, Mateusz Morawiecki, Jacek Sasin, Mariusz Kamiński, Michał Dworczyk, and Jarosław Kaczyński, among others. The committee’s mandate is to assess the legality, regularity, and purposefulness of actions taken in the preparation and implementation of the 2020 presidential elections conducted by postal voting methods. The inquiry especially focuses on actions by government ministers, including the Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Minister Jacek Sasin, and their deputies. The panel also aims to scrutinize the legislative processes and administrative decisions surrounding the election, seeking to determine whether these actions misused public resources or affected the public treasury. The committee’s work will determine if any further witness testimony is warranted as the investigation proceeds.
READ ALSO: REPORT. Commission on Postal Elections. The ruling coalition declines the request to interview Trzaskowski and Kidawa-Błońska.
Notes: The proceedings are ongoing and remain part of the parliamentary inquiry process.
[Attribution: wPolityce]