Electoral commission delays decision on PiS's financial report

The Commission agreed to delay the resolution until the "systematic regulation by the constitutional authorities of the Republic of Poland of the legal status of the Chamber of Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs of the Supreme Court and the judges involved in the decision-making of this chamber."

On December 11, the Chamber of Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs of the Supreme Court issued a ruling in favor of PiS, ordering PKW to accept the financial report of their election committee. This chamber, however, is not recognized by some lawyers and European tribunals.

Aleksander Stępkowski, a spokesperson for the Supreme Court, emphasized that PKW is required to accept the PiS financial report, as per the court's decision.

On the following day, December 12, the head of PKW, Sylwester Marciniak, announced that the documents from the Supreme Court had been received by the Commission, and a meeting was scheduled for Monday, December 16, at noon.

By 1:30 p.m., TVN24 reporter Michał Gołębiowski reported that the PKW had postponed the discussions. The confirmation came later from members of the Commission.

After 2:00 p.m., Sylwester Marciniak, the head of PKW, announced that the meeting had concluded. He noted that the discussions lasted nearly two hours and focused mainly on the long-standing issue of the legal status of the Chamber of Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs of the Supreme Court and the judges who had ruled in this chamber.

Despite earlier signals that not all members would attend the meeting, it turned out that the attendance was 100%, with all nine members of the Commission present.

Marciniak informed that PKW member, attorney Paweł Gieras, had submitted a motion to postpone the decision on the financial report of PiS's election committee following the Supreme Court's ruling on December 11.

Gieras emphasized that the motion was detailed and called for a "systematic regulation of the status of the Chamber of Extraordinary Control and the judges involved." He added that five out of the nine members voted in favor of the postponement.

"There is no final decision," Paweł Gieras declared earlier. He expressed hope that "the legislature will finally address the situation that currently exists."

He explained that it was impossible to make a decision at this stage because there were doubts about the legitimacy of the chamber that issued the ruling. Gieras noted that there were many arguments suggesting that this body may not actually be a court, and that the National Election Commission is not another court that can assess another court’s decision.

He stressed that the motion was submitted to give time to the legislature to address and resolve the issue.

Before the meeting began, Sylwester Marciniak, the head of the PKW, told reporters that Article 145, Paragraph 6 of the Electoral Code "does not provide much flexibility" for the Commission.

He emphasized that it stipulates that "in the event of a complaint being upheld, whether by the Supreme Court or a district court, regarding electoral committees running in local elections, the permanent election authorities - whether the election commissioner or the National Election Commission - must immediately accept the report."

As he explained, "immediately" means that the report must be accepted "within a few days." He pointed out that this had been the previous practice of election bodies.

Ryszard Kalisz, a PKW member, argued that the Extraordinary Control Chamber of the Supreme Court, which issued a ruling on the subsidies and grants for the PiS party, is not a legitimate court. He pointed out that the judges sitting in this chamber were appointed by a politicized National Council of the Judiciary (KRS), and as a result, such rulings cannot be respected.

He stated that "judges and individuals appointed by the president based on Article 179 of the Constitution, which requires a motion from the National Council of the Judiciary, cannot be considered legitimate, as this National Council of the Judiciary legally does not exist." "Therefore, these judges were appointed unlawfully," he stressed.

Kalisz added that because the Extraordinary Control Chamber and Public Affairs consists solely of such judges, the PKW had called for their removal from the panel. "Unfortunately, this motion was rejected, and as a result, further consequences followed," he remarked.

Earlier, Kalisz had informed that one member of the PKW would not be present at the Monday session but declined to reveal their identity. He only mentioned that the individual was nominated to the PKW by "one of the democratic parties."

According to the electoral code, after the ruling of the Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs Chamber of the Supreme Court, which accepted the complaint of the Law and Justice (PiS) party, the National Election Commission (PKW) is obliged to change its decision and accept PiS's financial report. However, the contentious issue is that the judges in the Extraordinary Control Chamber of the Supreme Court were appointed by a politicized National Council of the Judiciary (KRS).

The status of the Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs Chamber of the Supreme Court, which is responsible for reviewing complaints about PKW resolutions, is being challenged by the current government, European courts, and some members of the PKW.

In the second half of November, the PKW adopted a position in which it proposed that individuals appointed to judicial office by the KRS after 2017 should not participate in cases before the Supreme Court or other courts. At that time, it was announced that the Commission would request the exclusion of such individuals from cases involving the PKW. However, this position was not adopted unanimously.

On August 29 of this year, the PKW rejected the financial report of the PiS electoral committee for the 2023 parliamentary elections. The PiS party appealed the PKW decision to the Supreme Court. Under the regulations, the rejection of the annual report can result in the loss of the party’s right to receive subsidies from the state budget for three years.