Polish opposition raises millions in donations after electoral commission strips it of funding

Poland’s opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party says it has raised around 3 million zloty (€700,000) from 40,000 people within days of launching an appeal for donations after the electoral commission stripped the party of tens of millions in state funding due to campaign spending violations.

Some commentators and politicians from the ruling coalition have expressed doubt as to whether the manner in which PiS is now raising funds is legal. However, the justice minister today confirmed that, in his view, the opposition party is complying with the law on political donations.

On Thursday last week, the National Electoral Commission (PKW) voted to reject PiS’s financial report for its campaign in last year’s parliamentary elections. It found that the party, which was then in power, had used state money and institutions to support its campaign, in violation of the electoral code.

As a result, the PKW reduced by 10 million zloty PiS’s state subsidy to cover campaign costs. It also cancelled the party’s annual state subsidy for the next three years, which would have amounted to tens of millions of zloty in total. PiS can still appeal against the decision.

On Friday, the party’s leader, Jarosław Kaczyński, held a press conference at which he “appealed to all Polish patriots to transfer even small amounts” to the party. He said the PKW’s “scandalous” decision was intended to “eliminate the only strong opposition party” in the style of Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

PiS deputy leader Mariusz Błaszczak also announced that the party would require all of its MPs to each donate 1,000 zloty per month and its MEPs 5,000 zloty per month.

Speaking today to news website Niezależna, PiS treasurer Henryk Kowalczyk revealed that the party has received around 3 million zloty since the appeal was launched.

“There are a huge number of deposits,” he said. “Printing bank reports every day takes a very long time; yesterday two reams of paper were used for reports, and each sheet of paper contains 12 items.”

A few hours later, Błaszczak said that around 40,000 donations have so far been made, “mostly of small amounts, a few dozen zloty”.

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Kowalczyk also commented on the fact that some opponents of PiS have been maliciously making donations of a single grosz (€0.023) to the party, often with vulgar bank transfer titles.

They have done so in the knowledge that such donations must be rejected as invalid and that PiS may have to pay to transfer them back.

“The law regulates very clearly that the title [of the transfer] must contain the word ‘donation’,” said Kowalczyk. “They [our opponents] pay so that we have to return it to them. These comments [in the transfer title] are for this very purpose.”

However, the treasurer said that the party has found a solution that would allow it to return such donations without paying a fee for each one: “I don’t want to reveal it, it will be a surprise, quite sad and unpleasant for those who are paying now, but let them be happy for a moment.”

Some commentators have also expressed concern that PiS’s donations campaign may violate data protection rules because the party initially asked donors to provide their PESEL, a national identity number, in the title of the transfer.

This was done by the party to ensure that it was only accepting donations from Polish citizens who permanently reside in Poland, as is required by law, and to ensure that no individual exceeds the legally permitted donation limit of 64,000 zloty a year.

However, following criticism, on Monday Kaczyński told broadcaster wPolsce24 that the party would end the requirement to include a PESEL number.

An MP from the ruling camp, Roman Giertych, also claimed that PiS is violating a law prohibiting political parties from conducting public fundraising.

However, justice minister Adam Bodnar told broadcaster Radio Zet today that he “believes [PiS’s campaign] is legal”. He noted that donations to political parties are different from normal public collections.

“They should be described appropriately, and the PESEL number should be provided,” said Bodnar. “There are very detailed requirements. So I don’t see any problem with such a collection here.”

Błaszczak also confirmed today that PiS would submit an appeal against the PKW’s decision to the Supreme Court “in the coming days”. The party’s spokesman, Rafał Bochenek, declared the electoral commission’s actions to be “illegal”.

The party’s appeal is likely to create further legal controversy. Under legislation introduced by PiS while it was in power, its claim would be considered by the Supreme Court’s Chamber of Extraordinary Review and Public Affairs.

However, that chamber has been found to not be a legitimate body by the Court of Justice of the European Union because it is staffed by unlawfully appointed judges. The current government does not recognise its legitimacy.

Main image credit: Slawomir Kaminski / Agencja Wyborcza.pl

Daniel Tilles

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.