Polish ex-PM Morawiecki waives immunity over 2020 postal election case

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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Mateusz Morawiecki, prime minister in the former Law and Justice (PiS) government, has announced that he has waived his parliamentary immunity, as prosecutors seek to charge him with abusing his powers during preparations for the 2020 presidential election.

Morawiecki, currently an opposition PiS MP, called the accusation “politically motivated”. He announced his decision on social media, adding that he knows “that truth, law and justice will prevail”.

Parliament confirmed receipt of Morawiecki’s waiver letter. Ruling coalition politicians, however, argued the former prime minister’s decision to waive his immunity was pointless as parliament would have lifted it anyway.

The accusation relates to Morawiecki’s attempt to organise the 2020 presidential elections by post due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Administrative courts have already found that he violated the law when doing so and prosecutors now want to bring criminal proceedings, which could result in a prison sentence.

Prosecutors allege that as prime minister, Morawiecki overstepped his authority by initiating preparations for a postal-only presidential vote scheduled for 10 May 2020. At the time, Morawiecki said he would “gladly waive his immunity”, insisting he acted constitutionally.

Last week, prosecutor general Adam Bodnar submitted a formal request to Poland’s lower house of parliament, the Sejm, to lift Morawiecki’s immunity.

Morawiecki rejects the accusation, saying that “in his public activities he is guided by concern for the common good” and that all decisions during his time as prime minister “were taken in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and in the interest of the Republic of Poland”.

“Before the judiciary, I intend to expose the actions of the people and parties that make up the government coalition today, who at that time sought at all costs to block the elections within the constitutional deadline,” he said in a statement.

Morawiecki argued that today’s main ruling Civic Coalition (KO) group did so in 2020 to be able to swap their presidential candidate, allowing Warsaw mayor Rafał Trzaskowski to run instead of Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska.

In spring 2020, during the first wave of the pandemic in Poland, the then PiS government sought to organise that year’s presidential elections entirely by post.

It argued that this was necessary due to the epidemiological situation. However, critics accused PiS of acting politically, because holding elections as quickly as possible would favour the PiS-backed incumbent Andrzej Duda, who was seeking a second term as president.

They also claimed that the manner in which the government sought to organise those elections violated various laws. Those accusations have been supported by court rulings as well as a report by the state auditor.

Eventually, the postal elections were abandoned, despite the fact that at least tens of millions of zloty had been spent on preparing them. Normal elections took place instead, and were narrowly won by Duda.

Jarosław Urbaniak, the head of the committee in charge of assessing the formalities of the waiver letter, confirmed to the Polish Press Agency (PAP) that they had received Morawiecki’s request.

Meanwhile, rulling coalition politicians criticised Morawiecki’s move. “He knew what the final outcome would be,” said interior minister Tomasz Siemoniak in an interview with broadcaster TVN24. “I think he recognised that the case is indefensible.”

“Do not pretend to be a hero, Mr Morawiecki. You waived your immunity because you would have lost it anyway,” said KO’s Dariusz Joński, the head of the parliamentary commission that investigated the organisation of the 2020 postal elections.

“You have committed a crime. It is time for charges and a severe sentence so that no politician ever again organises an election through the post office or a catering company. Justice will soon be done for you. An end to lawlessness,” he added.

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: Adam Guz / Kancelaria Premiera / flicker.com (under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Alicja Ptak

Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.