The Sejm appointed on Wednesday (August 30) nine members of the commission to investigate Russian influence in Poland's internal affairs in the years 2007-2022. All candidates were submitted by the ruling Law and Justice party. The majority of opposition parties boycotted the vote, while the far-right Confederation party voted against most of the canditates.
The Sejm voted on each candidate separately. All nine received the required number of votes in favour. Civic Coalition, The Left, Polish People's Party, and Poland 2050 did not take part in the voting session. The far-right Confederation party voted against most of the canditates.
Opposition parties claim the commission is unlawful and, therefore, Civic Coalition, The Left, and Polish People's Party did not put forward any candidates.
The European Commission spokesperson Christian Wigand cautioned that if the Russian influence commission takes any action in relation to the upcoming parliamentary election, the EU Commission might decide to take another step in an infringement procedure launched against Poland.
PiS submitted nine candidates: Sławomir Cenckiewicz, Andrzej Zybertowicz, Przemysław Żurawski vel Grajewski, Łukasz Cięgotura, Michał Wojnowski, Marek Szymaniak, Arkadiusz Puławski, Andrzej Kowalski and Marek Czeszkiewicz.
Czeszkiewicz withdrew his candidacy earlier on Wednesday and was replaced by Józef Brynkus.
"Lex Tusk"
The law establishing a state commission for the investigation of Russian interference in the internal security of Poland from between 2007 and 2022 entered into force on May 31, after having been ratified by President Andrzej Duda a few days prior.
Upon signing the bill into law, the president noted he would send it to the Constitutional Tribunal for further consideration. Already on June 2, president Duda submitted the amendment to the law.
The new law has been dubbed "Lex Tusk" by the opposition, as they argue the main intention of its authors was to create a law that would target the Civic Platform chairman Donald Tusk. Furthermore, the critics of the legislation stress that its provisions could allow to eliminate figures picked by the commission from the political life.
According to the amended version, parliament members will not be allowed to sit in the commission to investigate Russian influence, preventive measures included in the original draft have been removed (for instance, the ban on performing duties involving spending public money up to 10 years), and the commission will have the authority to find a person was acting under Russian influence and thus does not guarantee the proper service in public interest.
Committee's decisions can appealed against at the Court of Appeals in Warsaw.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, PAP
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: Łukasz Błasikiewicz/Kancelaria Sejmu