The Marshal of the Sejm, Elżbieta Witek, set a deadline for submitting nominees to the Committee on Russian Influence. Parliamentary groups have been told they may submit by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, August 29, according to CIS director Andrzej Grzegrzółka in a statement. (Source: wPolityce)
Order of Marshal Witek
In a post on social media, the head of the KO club, Borys Budka, shared a scan of the letter from the Marshal of the Sejm on Friday. The directive from Marshal Witek requires MPs or parliamentary clubs to nominate candidates for the committee by August 29 this year. (Source: wPolityce)
As the head of the parliamentary committee on justice and human rights, Marek Ast explained, the nomination process started after the law was amended and after President Andrzej Duda’s proposal received approval. (Source: wPolityce)
Such as: We will present a list of our candidates
A member of the Law and Justice party stated that the party would submit a list of candidates to the committee. (Source: wPolityce)
It is possible that during the Sejm session on August 30, if there are candidates, the committee members could be selected. (Source: wPolityce)
Commission for the Study of Russian Influence
On May 31, the law establishing a commission to investigate Russian influence on Poland’s internal security for the years 2007-2022 came into force. The president signed this law a few days earlier and signaled that it would be referred to the Constitutional Court. Soon after, Andrzej Duda submitted a draft amendment to this law to the Sejm on June 2. The Sejm passed it on June 16, and the president signed the amendment on July 31. It took effect in August. (Source: wPolityce)
Under the presidential amendment, lawmakers will not be allowed to sit on the committee investigating Russian influence; preventive measures previously included in the law were removed, including the prohibition on certain public-fund functions for up to 10 years. The committee’s key focus is to assess whether a person can responsibly fulfill public duties; the committee’s decisions can be appealed to the Court of Appeal in Warsaw. (Source: wPolityce)
According to the law, the Commission comprises nine members of the rank of Secretary of State, appointed and dismissed by the Sejm. Each deputy or parliamentary club can submit up to nine candidates for committee membership to the Marshal within the specified deadline. (Source: wPolityce)
The box threatens criminal liability
Asked by PAP whether the KO would nominate candidates to the committee, PO club head Borys Budka replied that the Civic Coalition would not nominate anyone to what he called a pseudo-committee. He stressed that participation in the work of this body could carry criminal liability. (Source: wPolityce)
Additionally, the Left and PSL clubs indicated they would not nominate candidates. The head of the left-wing club, Krzysztof Gawkowski, tweeted that PiS faced electoral panic and was revisiting the issue of a commission to investigate Russian influence. He also stated that the Left would boycott the work of what he called an illegal body. (Source: wPolityce)
Kosiniak-Kamysz: Russian Path Committee
PSL president Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz also weighed in on social media. He declared that the PSL would not legitimize the Russian path committee created by PiS and would not nominate a representative to it. He added that after democratic parties prevail at the polls, a law and justice committee would be appointed to hold the PiS government accountable. (Source: wPolityce)
yes/PAP
Source: wPolityce