The National Prosecutor’s Office is dashing the hopes of those who expected its investigations to change the outcome of the presidential election, which saw conservative Karol Nawrocki eke out a narrow victory.
Currently, two parallel trials are underway. On the one hand, the Supreme Court is considering election protests, of which approximately 54,000 have been filed. On the other hand, the prosecutor’s office is conducting its activities, initiating proceedings regarding irregularities in individual commissions.
The Supreme Court announced that it will pass a resolution on the validity of the presidential elections at a public session on July 1.
No chance of reversing the election result
According to information from the National Prosecutor’s Office, quoted by the Money.pl portal, individual prosecutor’s offices in Poland have already initiated seven such investigations, but there could potentially be many more.
Prosecutor General Minister Adam Bodnar has filed applications to inspect ballots in 1,472 commissions.
“What can be the effect of the prosecutor’s actions? At most, criminal charges will be brought against members of the commission who committed the irregularities that have come to light. Contrary to what some supporters of a nationwide recount of votes are counting on, the prosecutor’s actions will not translate into a possible correction of the election result,” the report from Money.pl reads.
“The prosecutor’s office is not the body that counts votes and determines the election result. It is our responsibility to conduct proceedings when there is a reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed. This does not have to have an impact on the final election result on a national scale,” indicates prosecutor Przemysław Nowak, press spokesman for the National Prosecutor’s Office.
Furthermore, Money.pl writes: “These two parallel processes – in the Supreme Court and the prosecutor’s office – generate specific risks regarding the possible outcome of the entire case. The Supreme Court can only move within the scope of the considered – and admitted – election protests. This means that the sample on which it will operate will be limited, and there is certainly no question of recounting the votes in all of the 32,000 commissions, because there are no formal grounds for this.”
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