There are major doubts as to whether today’s elections in Poland can be described as fair. The ruling party used its influence on the media and state-owned companies to gain advantages in the election campaign.
A high-ranking politician in Poland is more likely to give a televised speech at Christmas and New Year. But three weeks ago the president of the second chamber of parliament, Senate Marshal Tomasz Grodzki from the opposition Civic Platform, used his constitutionally guaranteed right to speak on television at any time to inform Poles about a government scandal. “This is the only way this truth can reach everyone,” said Grodzki. “It also needs to be broadcast on public television, which many of you watch.”
Grodzki wanted to inform Poles about the so-called visa affair: Polish consulates are said to have illegally issued thousands to hundreds of thousands of visas in exchange for payment, especially in Asia and Africa. An astonishing process given the government’s skepticism about migration.
reporting biased
But the visa affair was not an issue on state broadcasting controlled by the ruling PiS party, which is the most important source of information for millions of Poles. The evening news in the state media only reports on government successes. The political opposition either does not appear at all or is deliberately slandered.
Already after the 2019 parliamentary elections, the OSCE criticized the reporting as biased. Since then the situation has become even more difficult. Opposition candidates were prevented from placing advertisements for their election campaign in newspapers that the state-owned oil company Orlen acquired a few years ago. CEO Daniel Obajtek is a PiS member.
PiS uses state structures for election campaigns
The PiS, on the other hand, consistently uses state structures to strengthen its election campaign. Election advertising for the PiS is widely distributed on the websites of state-owned companies such as waterworks and electricity suppliers, but also via monthly bills.
In addition, managers of state-owned companies sometimes openly promote the governing party. The director of the state forestry company, Józef Kubica, said at a press conference that he was ready to “win this big electoral battle” together with the government.
In the summer, the PiS organized numerous “citizen picnics” to provide information about the planned increase in child benefit. They looked suspiciously like election campaign events, but were paid for with tax money.
Referendum to influence election
The PiS is holding a referendum parallel to the election. Poles should vote on whether, for example, they support the sell-off of state assets to foreign companies, want the retirement age to be raised or are in favor of less protection on the Polish-Belarusian border.
The questions are formulated suggestively, are not up for political discussion and address PiS’s core issues with which it mobilizes its electorate. But since it is a referendum, the PiS can also pay for information events and advertising spots with public money and protects its own campaign budget.
Real problems are not addressed in the referendum, criticizes Krzysztof Gawkowski, leader of the left-wing parliamentary group in the Polish parliamentary chamber Sejm. “They don’t ask about inflation and price increases, how to get out of the economic crisis, when and how we will get the outstanding EU money, about health care or about education.” According to Gawkowksi, the referendum serves the sole purpose of influencing the election results in favor of the PiS at all costs.
Electoral law reform in favor of the PiS
The PiS also made changes to electoral law at the beginning of the year. The number of constituencies was increased so that there are more polling stations in the countryside, where more PiS voters tend to live. There should be transport services to the polling stations for older voters so that they can actually vote.
Voting has become more difficult for Poles abroad, the majority of whom voted for the opposition in the last parliamentary election. All polling stations abroad must count the ballot papers within 24 hours. That was the case even before the PiS. But now every member of the election commission has to personally inspect every ballot paper, which means counting takes longer. If the polling station fails to count all of the ballots cast within 24 hours, the entire polling station will be forfeited. Then none of the votes cast there count.
Overall, the PiS uses the media, state-owned companies, the referendum and electoral law reform to gain advantages in elections. Poles also notice this. According to a survey by the opinion research institute IBRiS, more than half of Poles (56.2 percent) are convinced that the election campaign is not fair.