Poland's lower house of parliament has approved Lidia Staroń as candidate for Commissioner for Human Rights. The minimum threshold to be approved was 228 votes. The candidate backed by the ruling Law and Justice party received 231 votes in favour, while the opposition-backed candidate Professor Marcin Wiącek - 222. In order to become Poland's ombudsman, Lidia Staroń now needs to be approved by the upper house, the Senate.
Members of Poland's lower house of parliament convened on Tuesday in their fifth attempt to appoint a successor to the current Commissioner for Human Rights Adam Bodnar. Two candidates were put forward: independent senator Lidia Staroń - backed by the ruling Law and Justice party, and opposition-backed University of Warsaw professor and lawyer Marcin Wiącek.
The latter received support from Civic Coalition, the Left, Polish Coalition-Polish People's Party, Poland 2050, Polish Affairs, as well as some lawmakers from the ruling United Rights coalition, including the chairman of the Accord party Jarosław Gowin and MP Zbigniew Girzyński.
The Sejm Justice and Human Rights Standing Committee last week approved senator Staroń's bid.
In Tuesday's vote over the candidates for ombudsman 455 MPs took part. The threshold for approval was 228 votes. Lidia Staroń won 231 votes, whereas Marcin Wiącek - 222.
Now, the decision is in the hands of the Senate. If the upper house rejects Staroń as candidate for commissioner, the Sejm will have appoint another candidate.
According to the Left lawmaker, Lidia Staroń as candidate was "a slap in the face for human rights in Poland". "This person has absolutely no sense of the nature of human rights and freedoms. She's been put forward to handle political business. This is not the right candidate for Polish men and women, who have the right to independent institution that would offer them support" - he said.
Poland needs to appoint a new human rights commissioner as Adam Bodnar's five-year term came to an end in September 2020. So far, the parliament has tried to do it five times. Opposition-backed candidate Zuzanna Rudzińska-Bluszcz tried twice, but in both cases her bid was rejected by the Sejm. In the third attempt, the Sejm approved Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Piotr Wawrzyk, but he later was rejected by the Senate. The same scenario unfolded in the fourth attempt with PiS lawmaker Bartłomiej Wróblewski's candidacy.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, PAP