Polish ministry hails OSCE report on presidential run-off
Poland's Ministry of Digital Affairs has welcomed the first post-election conclusions of the OSCE observers as detailed in a report following the second round of the country's presidential election, the ministry has told PAP.
On Sunday, Karol Nawrocki, backed by the right-wing opposition party Law and Justice (PiS) narrowly won the ballot against Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski from the main ruling centrist Civic Coalition party.
In a preliminary statement issued by the OSCE on Monday, the international observers wrote that Poland's presidential run-off on June 1 "was competitive and well managed," and "the freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly were respected" throughout the pre-election campaign.
However, the OSCE had concerns regarding the activities of Poland's Science and Academic Computer Network (NASK) [internet research institute] in relation to the handling of "a case involving third-party paid Facebook ads of unclear origins and funding shortly before the first round." According to the observers, these ads promoted Trzaskowski and targeted Nawrocki and the far-right Confederation's Slawomir Mentzen, who placed third in the first round.
The OSCE wrote that "the delayed and contradictory public communications" from NASK, along with "the lack of transparency regarding findings and measures taken, raised questions about the nature and timeliness of the response and ran the risk of diminishing public confidence in the institutions involved."
NASK commented to PAP that it had "completed the task envisaged for the research institution in this respect" and that the Internal Security Agency and the Ministry of Digital Affairs were notified about the issue on May 9.
The OSCE also said that although multiple efforts were deployed to counter disinformation, foreign interference and inauthentic online activity, "their effectiveness was weakened by insufficient institutional co-ordination, limited and delayed public communication around the measures taken, and inconsistent responses by social platforms."
The press office of the digital affairs ministry informed PAP on Wednesday that the ministry "positively assesses the initial statement of the OSCE observers."
It added that as part of the process for the final OSCE report, the ministry will provide "appropriate comments and additions to the elements that currently require detail."
"Due to the continuous and good cooperation with the OSCE observer team, it is not advisable to convey these comments and additions through the media," the ministry stated. (PAP)
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