Latest news with #LawAndJustice
BBC News
3 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Anti-immigrant rallies staged across Poland
Anti‑immigration protests have taken place in dozens of towns and cities across Poland. Most demonstrations attracted several hundred people or fewer on Saturday - but police estimated that about 3,000 took part in the largest rally in the southern city of Katowice. The protests were organised by far-right political group Konfederacja, and another nationalist from Konfederacja and the opposition Law and Justice party have been warning about a flood of illegal migration in Poland - but official figures do not support their claims. "Without closing Poland to illegal immigration, without starting deportation campaigns, without abandoning political correctness... security will gradually deteriorate," Konfederacja co-chairman Krzysztof Bosak told the crowd in the eastern city of Bialystok.A minute's silence was held at some gatherings in memory of a 24-year-old Polish woman murdered in the central city of Torun. In the capital Warsaw, rival rallies took place just metres away. There were no reports of violence. Police have since arrested a Venezuelan man in the case. Right-wing politicians claim Poland is in danger of being flooded by illegal migrants. Immigration has increased over the last decade - but official figures show that migration is lower so far this year than in previous this month, Poland introduced checks on its borders with Germany and Lithuania after Berlin began turning away asylum seekers. Germany introduced its own controls on the Polish and Czech borders in March, Poland temporarily suspended the right of migrants arriving in the country via its border with Belarus to apply for asylum.
Bloomberg
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Polish Supreme Court Validates Nawrocki's Presidential Victory
Poland's Supreme Court validated the victory of the opposition candidate Karol Nawrocki in last month's presidential election amid controversy about voting irregularities. The ruling opens the way for Nawrocki, a conservative historian fronted by the Law & Justice party, to be sworn in by parliament and take office as planned on Aug. 6.
Reuters
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Polish liberal candidate's team lodge protest over presidential election
WARSAW, June 17 (Reuters) - The campaign team of the defeated candidate in Poland's presidential election lodged a protest over alleged voting irregularities, its head said late on Monday, part of a wave of complaints from supporters of liberal Rafal Trzaskowski. Trzaskowski, from the ruling Civic Coalition (KO), was narrowly defeated by nationalist Karol Nawrocki in the June 1 second round, with the nationalist candidate backed by the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party getting 50.89% of the vote. Media reported irregularities in the second round and the Supreme Court has ordered a recount in 13 commissions, but this won't affect the final result materially. "In a democratic electoral process, every voter's vote must be guaranteed due respect by state institutions. The election protest of (Trzaskowski's) campaign representative was sent to the Supreme Court," the chief of Trzaskowski's campaign, Wiola Paprocka, wrote on X late on Monday. She gave no details of the wording of the protest. Another member of the Trzaskowski campaign team, Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk said on Saturday he was filing a protest privately, pointing to an unusual increase in spoiled or blank ballots in areas where Trzaskowski won in the first round. He said that according to a model from UCE Research, there were 800 polling stations where Nawrocki had a "suspiciously high" score, and referred to irregularities in polling stations where a recount has already been ordered. The PiS party says that Trzaskowski's supporters are trying to undermine Poles' faith in the democratic process. Current president and PiS ally Andrzej Duda said on June 9 that "liberal-leftists, want to... take away our freedom of choice." Poles had until Monday to lodge protests with the Supreme Court, and the court has around two weeks to hear them. The Polish electoral commission on Monday confirmed the result of the election but said that in the second round, there were "incidents that could have affected the outcome of the vote." It said it would leave an assessment of these incidents to the Supreme Court. A Supreme Court spokesperson said on Monday that it had already registered over 3,000 protests and expected many more.
New York Times
11-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Poland's Leader Wins Confidence Vote in Parliament
Poland's centrist government won a confidence vote in Parliament on Wednesday, averting political turmoil for the biggest country on the European Union's eastern flank and a robust supporter of Ukraine. Prime Minister Donald Tusk last week called the vote for legislators to endorse his government, hoping to reassert his authority after the victory of a political opponent, Karol Nawrocki, a nationalist historian, in a presidential election this month. In the vote, 243 lawmakers voted in favor of Mr. Tusk and 210 against, giving him a majority in the 460-member lower house of Parliament. Speaking to Parliament on Wednesday, Mr. Tusk acknowledged that Mr. Nawrocki's win in the presidential vote would create challenges 'greater than we expected.' But, referring to the president's limited and largely ceremonial duties, he insisted that the result of that election 'in no way reduces our responsibility, our duties or the scope of our power or competences.' Mr. Tusk's victory Wednesday in the confidence vote is a blow for the Law and Justice party, which had been hoping for a possible return to power in the event of early elections. A vote against Mr. Tusk's government would have required him to resign after about only 18 months in office. Bruised by Mr. Nawrocki's victory in the presidential poll and under pressure from Law and Justice to resign, Mr. Tusk last week acknowledged the 'gravity of the moment,' but, gambling on a confidence vote, he insisted that 'we do not intend to take a single step back.' Mr. Nawrocki, like Andrzej Duda, the departing president, is closely aligned with Law and Justice, and his victory over a liberal candidate backed by Mr. Tusk is likely to harden the stalemate between a presidency and a government pulling in opposite directions. The Polish president has no say in setting policy but has veto power over legislation passed by Parliament, a prerogative that has hobbled Mr. Tusk's government to carry out its agenda. That includes repairing relations with the European Union and reversing changes Law and Justice made during its time in power that compromised the independence of the judiciary and all but banned abortion. Law and Justice lost its parliamentary majority in a 2023 election, but the coalition of legislators that Mr. Tusk put together to form a government has been a fractious alliance made up of liberals, centrists and conservatives that shared little common ground other than opposition to Law and Justice. Anatol Magdziarz contributed reporting.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Poland's president-elect Nawrocki vows firm stance against PM Tusk
Poland's conservative president-elect Karol Nawrocki has said Prime Minister Donald Tusk must prepare for "strong resistance from the presidential palace," as a battle looms between the two leaders. Speaking on Thursday in his first television interview since Sunday's election, Nawrocki called Tusk "the worst prime minister Poland has had since 1989" and vowed to respond firmly and decisively to any provocation. Tusk's centre-left coalition, which took office in late 2023, has come under pressure since liberal candidate and Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski was defeated in a knife-edge presidential vote by conservative Nawrocki. Nawrocki's victory is likely to complicate Tusk's efforts to push through his pro-EU government's policies, as eurosceptic Nawrocki will have the power to veto legislation as president. Tusk plans a vote of confidence in parliament on June 11 to secure his alliance's support. Backed by nationalist conservative Law and Justice party (PiS) leader Jarosław Kaczyński, Nawrocki, a historian, had already declared during the election campaign that his goal was to bring down Tusk's government. However, Nawrocki said he is willing to cooperate on key issues important to Poland's welfare.
