Election day tours

Who rigged the presidential election in Poland?

The presidential election in Poland has taken place. Poland’s National Electoral Commission (PKW) approved the results on the evening of June 2nd. However, a few days later, local media began to write extensively about irregularities in the counting of votes, and the existence of ‘carousels’ — that is, organised multiple voting by groups at several polling stations. The National Electoral Commission had to respond to this by scheduling an emergency meeting for June 9th. Yet, it was cancelled a few hours before it was due to begin.

Vote of no confidence

It is worth recalling that problems with the vote count began back in the first round, when facts emerged of ballot papers being issued that had not been certified by precinct election commissions.
The second round aroused doubts even before voting began: a record number of voters were registered abroad — around 800,000. This scheme had previously been tested in Romania. On election day, a huge number of organised bus ‘tours of voters’ between regions of the country were recorded in neighbouring countries.
The first exit polls, which gave the victory to Rafał Trzaskowski, the candidate from the pro-European party Civic Coalition, added fuel to the fire. Nawrocki, behind whom Trump and American Republicans stand, on the contrary, is interested in preventing any European initiatives. He has already spoken out against the introduction of the Euro in the country and does not support Warsaw’s participation in the ‘coalition of the willing’ on Ukraine.
Trzaskowski’s defeat has created a particular problem for Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Only 40 percent of those polled by SW Research agree that Tusk’s government should continue to function. Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of the Law and Justice party (PiS), which supported Karol Nawrocki in the second round, has stated directly that a technical government should be formed.

Ballot stuffing

Various kinds of manoeuvring have also begun in Tusk’s coalition. The Peasant Party, led by Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, has still not held the press conference planned following the election results. Moreover, information leaks have emerged from within the party that a survey is being conducted among its members regarding the possible transition of the party into a coalition with PiS.
On the other hand, the Peasant Party has already declared that it demands a revision of ministerial seats in the government coalition in its favour, and a reduction in taxes.

However, this dirty political bargaining, which could cost the Prime Minister the loss of power in the state, looks very dim against the backdrop of the risks posed to him by possible changes in his native Civic Coalition.

A few days after the election, Roman Giertych, an odious politician and member of the Polish Parliament known for his hatred of PiS, submitted an application for membership in the party. He immediately began to publicly demonstrate his political ambitions to replace Donald Tusk.
While the Prime Minister called on everyone not to raise questions about the legitimacy of the presidential election results, Roman Giertych believes that Law and Justice deliberately falsified the electoral results. The matter came to light after an error in one district commission, where the results of Rafał Trzaskowski and Karol Nawrocki were ‘mixed up’.
“I am talking about a group throughout the country, because it happened in local authorities. I have no doubt that this is all the result of some form of training organised by PiS,” Giertych said. The MP also appealed to Attorney General Adam Bodnar to create a special investigation team to investigate reports of fraud.

Execute not pardon

In one of Kraków’s electoral commissions, votes cast for Trzaskowski were attributed to his opponent.

Among the recorded complaints were also unusual accusations, such as alleged ‘telepathic manipulation’ or the presence of commission members with red corals, identified with the election campaign of one of the candidates. Other accusations concerned the restriction of voting rights by commission chairpersons.

Serious irregularities were detected by Onet journalists in 15 commissions, including in Kraków, Gdańsk, and Bielsko-Biała. There, the errors mainly favoured Karol Nawrocki, although three commissions were also identified where the stuffing favoured Rafał Trzaskowski.
The Supreme Court has already registered several dozen similar protests. However, the suspicious selectivity of journalists and protesting NGOs raises questions. Prior to the elections in Poland, there were widespread cases of illegal financing from EU and Soros funds for advertising in favour of Rafał Trzaskowski. Yet, no one intends to investigate these facts.
Conversely, suspicions about foreign funding, which the Internal Security Agency is investigating, are related to Roman Giertych’s complaints. In particular, he claims that the TikTok platform promoted right-wing content five times more often than others, which may indicate deliberate algorithm manipulation. Incidentally, access to Belarusian media in Poland was restricted before the elections.
This is understandable, though. The government in Poland is led by Donald Tusk’s administration. The mainstream media are also loyal to him. Therefore, the whole dispute surrounding the legality and legitimacy of the election results looks like political horse-trading and an attempt to influence Nawrocki, to soften his position towards Brussels, the Eurocrats, and the EU in general.

PERSECUTION OF THE UNDESIRED

Immediately after the elections, the persecution of Grzegorz Braun — another candidate in the Polish presidential election who finished fourth — began. There is now talk of an attempt to remove his immunity as a member of the European Parliament, which would pave the way for his criminal prosecution and prevent him from participating in the next parliamentary election campaign. The initiator of this was the Prosecutor General of Poland, and also Donald Tusk’s right-hand man, Adam Bodnar. All of this looks like a deliberate purge of the undesired and political opponents.

WARSAW IGNORES CITIZENS’ OPINIONS

The presidential election showed the instability of the Polish political system. The struggle between Washington and Brussels is intensifying every day and negatively affects more and more Western countries. Poland is no exception. However, the quality of life and safety of ordinary Poles has not improved as a result. Instead of allocating funds to schools and hospitals, the Polish government extended the buffer zone on the border with Belarus by 90 days, ignores the demands of its own citizens to open border crossings, and continues its militaristic efforts in the Baltic.

By Piotr Petrovsky, political scientist