Parliament passes bill crucial for certifying election results
The Polish Sejm, the lower house of parliament, has passed a draft law that seeks to end the stalemate concerning who should certify the validity of elections in Poland, but it is unlikely to become law due to opposition from the country's president.
The new legislation states that the validity of this year's presidential elections in Poland will be confirmed by 15 most senior judges of the Supreme Court, taking into account their time of service.
Currently, verification of election processes is the prerogative of the Supreme Court's Chamber of Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs, a unit set up in 2018 during the rule of the socially-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, now the main opposition.
The chamber's legality has been contested by some Polish judicial circles, the current government and EU courts due the fact that all of the chamber's judges were appointed in a procedure that is regarded as a violation of rule of law and the principle of separation of powers, thus not ensuring the judges' independence from politicians.
The new bill seeks to overcome the unit's legitimacy problem, but President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally and a staunch supporter of the new chamber, is likely to refuse to sign any legislation that could undermine its status.
Critics say that PiS established the chamber to protect its members and interests in the event of losing power, which it eventually did in 2023. The Supreme Court's new unit has already ruled in favour of PiS on several occasions, such as striking down the National Electoral Commission's (PKW) decision to impose a large financial penalty on PiS for misspending funds during the 2023 parliamentary campaign.
Two hundred and twenty MPs voted in favour of the bill in the 460-member lower house, 204 were against and 20 abstained.
The authors of the draft law argue that the legislation is needed to prevent any doubts about the validity of the presidential election, which is scheduled for this May. (PAP)
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