Judge Sylwester Marciniak told PAP that the National Electoral Commission had set Monday, October 28 as the date for its next meeting. The commission is expected to review the party’s 2023 financial reports, but there is no guarantee that final decisions will be reached on the largest parties, including PiS.
The head of the National Electoral Commission did not specify the exact agenda for October 28 or whether the 2023 reports from the largest parties would be on the table.
Right now it is difficult to forecast. Two weeks remain until the session. Draft resolutions must be prepared, reports analyzed, and expert opinions assessed.
There is work to be done on numerous resolutions concerning the financial reports of committees responsible for elections to the Sejm and Senate. There are nearly a hundred parties, and so far ten reports have been adopted.
The commission plans to hold meetings more frequently, Marciniak said.
The key role of the Supreme Court with regard to the PiS report
The head of the National Electoral Commission refused to prejudge the fate of the 2023 PiS report, noting that the commission’s decision hinges on the Supreme Court’s ruling on PiS’s challenge to the decision to submit the commission’s report on the parliamentary elections.
Under the Political Parties Act, a rejection of PiS’s report by the House would mean the 2023 party report could be rejected for subsidies for a three year period.
The Supreme Court has sixty days to hear a complaint against the National Electoral Commission’s resolution to reject the PiS report. The effect on the party depends on the finality of the NEC decision or the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the complaint. The legal consequences are closely tied.
Marciniak also noted that no date has been announced for the Supreme Court meeting in this case. The sixty day window to hear the complaint would expire in early November.
The status of the Supreme Court’s Chamber for Extraordinary Scrutiny and Public Affairs, which holds the power to hear PiS’s complaint, decide election cases, and play a crucial role in organizing the elections, is affected by the current political situation, including questions about some seats on the National Electoral Commission.
There will surely be a solution, and soon. Elections are approaching rapidly, the head of the Commission said.
He recalled that the Speaker of the Sejm must issue a decision by early February setting the date for presidential elections, after which the National Electoral Commission will receive notifications on the formation of electoral commissions and the registration of candidates.
There is a need to adopt several dozen resolutions on how elections will be run, and it should be noted that electoral commissions can appeal NEC resolutions to the Supreme Court. Strict time limits apply, two days to file a complaint and two days to process it. The commission emphasized this point.
The head of the commission was later asked whether resignation had been considered. He answered that resignation had not been contemplated in the strict sense, though there are moments when one questions if actions taken by others should bear his name.
“There have never been so many controversial issues in history.”
Marciniak pointed out that the NEC has never faced so many disputes over accepting or rejecting financial reports as today. The situation combines legal and economic tensions, a significant burden, and voices from politicians seeking to push their own agendas at the expense of electoral bodies. It is not an easy moment.
He also stressed support for thorough oversight of party financing and campaign activity, but added that clear legal instruments must come first to enable such control.
Rejection of PiS’s financial report by the National Electoral Commission
Late August saw the NEC reject PiS’s financial report on the 2023 parliamentary elections, citing irregularities in campaign financing amounting to 3.6 million zloty. Consequently, subsidies for the party were reduced by triple the disputed amount, about 10.8 million zloty. PiS was required to repay 3.6 million zloty to the Ministry of Finance.
In early September, PiS filed a complaint with the Supreme Court’s Chamber for Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs. The party chair, Jarosław Kaczyński, said the NEC decision stood in clear contradiction to the law.