Prosecutors Seek Files in Polish Election Protest Dispute

The Supreme Court (SN), a new body introduced by the former ruling Law and Justice (PiS) government in 2018, is now in charge of endorsing the election findings. But the independence of this chamber has been contested by European courts, including in a 2023 ruling by the EU's Court of Justice.

The huge volume of election challenges lodged
This presidential runoff was won narrowly by the conservative candidate Karol Nawrocki, who emerged victorious over centrist opponent RafaÅ‚ Trzaskowski with only 369,451 votes in the difference—50.89% to 49.11%. After the vote, nearly 50,000 formal election protests were filed, a significant increase from a year earlier, when only 6,000 were filed. The complaints focused on issues such as voting irregularities, errors with vote counting, statistical anomalies and the use of unauthorized digital tools.

While the Supreme Court has disposed of thousands of identical template protests, it is still entertaining those that include local variations on the allegations. Prosecutors want unrestricted access to 214 files related to the cases of protesters, which they claim are essential for the Prosecutor General to carry out his legal duties during the certification process.

Standoff on legitimacy and oversight of the court
The first president of the Supreme Court, Małgorzata Manowska, said the prosecutors were informed that formal requirements must be met and separate written motions filed for each file, particularly if not yet distributed to judicial panels.

Bodnar, who has cast the current chamber as illegitimate, says it doesn't meet constitutional standards for independence. He has suggested that certification of the election should be moved to another chamber, the Labour and Social Insurance Chamber, which is made up of judges nominated before a set of contentious reforms in 2018.

Bodnar has organized a task force at the National Prosecutor's Office to work on allegations of irregularities at 296 polling stations. ### These probes could result in some sort of recounts in some places before the court resolves the matter, which it must do by July 1.

"It's our responsibility to ensure that all the election protests are considered correctly and to the fullest extent," Bodnar said. "The status quo does not provide the predictable levels of quality that are needed.

Manowska reminded that it is the Supreme Court's duty to examine all protests and secure the legitimacy of the election by that constitutional deadline.