7 committees swapped Nawrocki's and Trzaskowski's votes. Prosecutor's office may request recount

The prosecutor familiarized himself in the Supreme Court with the protocols of the recount of ballots from 10 district electoral commissions; in 7 of them, the votes were changed, which resulted in the erroneous assumption that Karol Nawrocki received a greater number of votes in these districts - the PG spokeswoman informed in a statement.

Prosecutor Anna Adamiak announced on Saturday that - in order to ensure the participation of PG in the proceedings concerning the Supreme Court's consideration of election protests - Adam Bodnar authorized a prosecutor from the Department of Judicial Prosecutor's Office to familiarize himself with the ballot inspection reports in the Supreme Court.

As reported, on Friday the authorized prosecutor familiarized himself with the files containing the protocols of the recount of ballots in 10 district electoral commissions (Kraków, Tarnów, Katowice, Strzelce Opolskie, Mińsk Mazowiecki, Olesno, Grudziądz, Kamienna Góra, Wieniec-Brześć Kujawski, Gdańsk).

According to the PG spokeswoman, the analysis of the inspections carried out shows that in seven commissions, votes cast for individual candidates for the office of president were changed, "which resulted in the erroneous assumption that Karol Nawrocki received a greater number of votes in these districts, while the recount of the ballot papers by the court showed that Rafał Trzaskowski received this number of votes". It was specified that this refers to the district electoral commissions in: Kraków, Strzelce Opolskie, Mińsk Mazowiecki, Olesno, Grudziądz, Wieniec-Brześć Kujawski and Gdańsk.

The prosecutor's office reported on Platform X that a total of irregularities occurred in nine out of ten commissions.

Prosecutor Adamiak reported that the district electoral commission in Katowice mistakenly added invalid votes to both candidates, while in the commission in Kamienna Góra it turned out that the package containing votes cast for candidate Karol Nawrocki contained valid votes cast for Rafał Trzaskowski. As stated in the announcement, "the recount of votes shows that in the district, Rafał Trzaskowski received the greater number of votes, and not Karol Nawrocki, as indicated in the commission's minutes".

The PG spokeswoman said that "the irregularities revealed in the work of the district election commission in Kamienna Góra justify conducting an investigation by the locally and materially competent organizational unit of the prosecutor's office in connection with the possibility of a crime being committed."

As regards the electoral commission in Tarnów, the inspection - as reported - confirmed the voting result recorded in the minutes.

The announcement stated that "in view of the subsequent irregularities in the electoral process, the Prosecutor General will seek to clarify all doubts raised in the protests, requesting, if necessary, a recount of the ballots." The PG spokeswoman indicated that in justified cases, preparatory proceedings will be initiated to determine all the circumstances and assess them from a criminal law perspective.

The media have been reporting for several days on irregularities related to the counting of votes in some commissions during the second round of the presidential elections. Last week, in connection with the filed election protests, the Supreme Court decided to inspect the ballots from a total of 13 district electoral commissions, including those in Kraków and Mińsk Mazowiecki. Inspections were also ordered at that time, among others, in relation to two District Electoral Commissions from Bielsko-Biała.

The Supreme Court hears protests in a three-judge panel, in non-contentious proceedings. "If, during the hearing of the protest, it is necessary to conduct an evidentiary proceeding, a decision is issued to admit and hear evidence, e.g. from witness statements or inspection of ballot papers," the Supreme Court reported. After hearing the protest, the Supreme Court may leave it without further action. This means that the protest cannot be heard on its merits for formal reasons.

If the protest is considered on its merits, the Supreme Court may express an opinion that the protest is unfounded or that it is justified. "In the event of expressing an opinion on the validity of the protest allegations, the Supreme Court shall indicate whether the irregularities found had an impact on the election result," the Supreme Court informed.

After considering all election protests, based on the election report presented by the National Electoral Commission, the Supreme Court decides on the validity of the election of the President of the Republic of Poland - it must do so within 30 days of the announcement of the election results to the public. This means that the last day by which this decision must be made is July 2 this year.

On Friday, Supreme Court spokesman Aleksander Stępkowski told PAP that the number of all election protests could reach 50,000.

According to the regulations introduced in 2018 during the PiS government, the Supreme Court’s Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs Chamber, established at that time, is responsible for considering election protests and determining the validity of elections. It is composed of persons appointed after 2017 to the office of judge at the request of the National Council of the Judiciary, established in accordance with the procedure specified in the provisions of the Act on the National Council of the Judiciary of 2017. For this reason, the status of this chamber is being questioned by the current government, which cites, among other things, the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU and the European Court of Human Rights. Before 2018, electoral issues were considered by the then Chamber of Labor, Insurance and Public Affairs.

Adam Bodnar consistently points out that there is a need to exclude all judges of the Chamber of Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs of the Supreme Court from adjudicating in election protest cases, because as a result of procedures they were appointed by the National Council of the Judiciary after 2017 and "do not meet the requirements of independence and impartiality, and thus cannot be considered appointed in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Poland".

Stępkowski emphasizes that "the only chamber legally authorized to hear protests is the Chamber of Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs of the Supreme Court." (PAP)

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