Call for veto amendment of the Electoral Code (print No 556) – digital privileges for parties, paper barriers for citizens.
Boat, 7 January 2026.
President of Poland
Karol Nawrocki
Office of the president of Poland
ul. agrarian 10
00-902 Warsaw
Dear Mr President,
on behalf of the Institute of civilian Affairs and more than 223 1000 Polish women and Poles supporting since 2012 the run "Citizens decide" I call with urgent appeal to veto the amendment of the Electoral Code performed as a parliamentary print no. 556.
The explanatory memorandum of the draft amendment indicated that the "use of modern technologies" serves to "increase civic participation" and that "any form of facilitation for citizens" of public participation "is worthy of support". Since the legislator defines the intent of this change, the more incomprehensible the series of legal changes is.
Political parties introduce for themselves the anticipation of collecting signatures for candidates in the general elections in electronic form by submitting a message of support on a portal run by the National Election Office. At the same time, the same parties have for years refused to collect signatures in electronic form under civilian legislative initiatives. Today, citizens who want to bring a citizens' bill to the Parliament must collect 100 000 signatures on paper lists within 3 months.
The conduct of the task promoters is discriminatory for citizens and far from the thought of "First Poland, first Poles".
Reasons
- Support for citizens to sign online
72% of Poles and Poles support the introduction of the signing of civilian laws on the net (investigations commissioned by the Institute of civilian Affairs).
According to a November 2023 IBRiS survey (on behalf of the Institute of Direct Democracy), 64% of respondents advocated specified a solution (30% of the "yes" + 34% of the "yes".
- Double standards in the digitisation of democracy
Our country has been developing e-services for years (ePUAP, Trusted Profile, mCitizen, e-services), but in the area crucial to civilian democracy it maintains an archaic paper model of collecting 100,000 signatures under civilian bill projects.
The legislators themselves, in their justification for printing No. 556, admit that "the paper collection of signatures is anachronistic and inefficient, and in the age of digitisation of public society and services (...) the way signatures are collected (...) should be adapted to current standards".
Why is this argument only about political parties and not citizens?
- Endurance of inequality between parties and citizens
The amendment creates a "Portal for the submission of candidates or lists of candidates in general elections" and allows declarations of support online. The parties gain a modern tool that allows them to collect signatures comfortably and without leaving home. And citizens stay on paper lists and a short 3 period deadline to collect 100,000 signatures under citizens' legislative initiatives.
The parties already have structures, backing and media access. Additional facilitation in the form of e-signatures will deepen this asymmetry, since a akin tool does not concern a citizens' legislative initiative.
Why does a sovereign have worse conditions than political parties?
- Limiting the real usage of constitutional law
Article 118(2) of the Polish Constitution guarantees citizens a legislative initiative.
Without digital tools, it can be very hard to usage it in practice – many civilian projects fall at the phase of collecting signatures, not due to deficiency of public support, but due to organisational and temporary barriers.
- Irlogicalness of the paper anachronism argument
Since the legislator himself considered in the justification for printing no. 556 that "the paper collection of signatures is anachronistic and inefficient", it is all the more anachronistic in the civilian procedure, which is intended to service Poles and Poles to decide between elections.
- Skipping ready-made solutions
The Institute of civilian Affairs, in cooperation with citizens, experts, University of Gdańsk, University of Łódź and with the support of the National Centre for investigation and improvement (GOSPOSTRATEG programme), prepared a comprehensive draft of a fresh bill on a citizens' legislative initiative with a safe electronic signature.
The task supports 42 leaders of NGOs curious in strengthening dialog and participation in our country.
The task received a affirmative opinion from the Government Legislative Centre.
Despite this, our task has not been part of Parliament for years.
- The consistent position of the Ombudsman
The call for e-signatures under the citizens' legislative initiative has been repeatedly raised by subsequent Ombudsmans:
- Irena Lipowicz (RPO 2010–2015) already in 2013 asked Prime Minister Donald Tusk to let electronic collection of signatures under civilian projects.
- Adam Bodnar (RPO 2015–2021) pointed out the request to modernise the procedure, stressing that the deficiency of e-signatures limits the real exercise of citizens' constitutional rights.
- Marcin Wiącek (RPO since 2021) appealed for urgent work on amending regulations, including in 2021 in a speech to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and in 2025 in correspondence with the Ministry of Digitization (e.g. a letter from February 2025 and a speech from March 2025).
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Mr. President,
Since 2012, the civilian Affairs Institute has repeatedly presented a proposal for amendments to the civilian Legislative Initiative Act to further presidents, parliamentarians and Speakers of the Sejm. There were declarations of understanding, but there were no legislative decisions.
Today the situation is special: the parties enter e-signatures for themselves and the citizens leave the collection of signatures in the paper procedure.
Signing the Act as it stands will be a clear signal that the citizens' legislative initiative is inactive not treated by politicians as a serious tool of democracy.
What we propose alternatively of signing the Act as it stands:
- Veto to print no. 556 – to first introduce an electronic signature for citizens who make a immense effort to collect 100,000 signatures under the civilian bill in 3 months.
- Use of the fresh Citizen Legislative Initiative Act prepared by the Institute of civilian Affairs, which provides for a safe signature over the Internet.
Today, Members and Senators are making it easier for themselves to collect signatures – digital and convenient. Who's going after average people if not the president of the Republic?
Mr. President,
I call for a decision that will not fix the model "digital privileges for politicians, paper barriers for Poles and Poles".
Sovereign should not be treated worse than political parties in our country.
Veto is simply a real tool for stopping double standards and enforcing equal treatment of citizens and parties.
First Poland, first Poland and Poles.
With respect
Rafał Górski
President of the Management Board
Institute of civilian Affairs
