The National Electoral Commission (PPP) has re-examined the PiS financial statements for the year 2023. On Monday, during the meeting, a resolution was attempted, but the required majority was not obtained. The vote ended in a tie, as 4 members of the committee voted in favour and 4 against accepting the party's accounts.
The controversy surrounding this case began erstwhile the Chamber of Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs of the ultimate Court recognized the complaint of the Law and Justice to reject his financial statements. In accordance with the Electoral Code, the ultimate Court should adopt the study without delay.
PKW president, Sylwester Marciniak, requested the adoption of the yearly accounts of the Law and Justice Office for 2023. Unfortunately, it failed to get the required majority of votes, which caused the decision to be postponed. The same was the case in the case of Richard Balicki's request to postpone the decision until the constitutional authorities of the Republic of Poland regulate the legal position of the home of Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs of the SN and the judges taking part in the ruling of this Chamber.
PKW besides returned to the substance of replying to a letter from the Minister of Finance, Andrzej Domański, concerning the Commission's decision to adopt the accounts of the PiS Committee from the 2023 parliamentary elections, which was taken on 30 December. 3 consequence options were prepared, but no of them received the required majority. Therefore, the president of PKW informed that all 3 options for responses, together with the minutes on Monday and erstwhile meetings of PKW, would be provided to the Minister of Finance.
PKW President, Sylwester Marciniak, besides sent a letter to the Finance Minister asking for information on the execution of financial transfers to the Law and Justice Department in connection with the adoption by the Commission of the financial study of the electoral committee of that organization from the parliamentary elections of 2023.
It is worth noting that PKW is the body liable for the supervision of the finances of political parties in Poland. In 2022, the budget of PKW amounted to about PLN 43.6 million, of which PLN 23.6 million was allocated to salaries and derivatives, and PLN 10.3 million for statutory activity.
Data on the finances of political parties in Poland are available on the PKW website. According to data from 2022, the Law and Justice Office had the largest revenues among all political parties in Poland, amounting to about PLN 143,4 million. This organization besides had the largest expenditure, amounting to about PLN 134.4 million.
The substance of the PiS accounts is just 1 of many examples of controversy around the finances of political parties in Poland. In 2020, the PKW sent a announcement to the D.A. that political parties suspected a crime, which did not allocate funds received from the state budget to statutory purposes.
In Poland, political parties are financed from the state budget, as well as from membership contributions and donations. In 2022, political parties received about PLN 245 million from the state budget. Additionally, political parties may receive grants for election run purposes. In 2020, political parties received about PLN 150 million for this purpose.
Controversy around the finances of political parties in Poland is frequently the subject of public debates. In 2019, a parliamentary committee was appointed to analyse cases of irregularities in the finances of political parties. The Commission presented a study indicating a number of irregularities in the finances of political parties, including a deficiency of transparency in their finances and irregularities in the settlement of grants from the state budget.
In order to guarantee greater transparency in the finances of political parties, PKW introduced a fresh strategy of electronic reporting of political parties' accounts in 2020. This strategy makes it possible to check the financial data of political parties rapidly and easily.
In summary, the PiS financial study is just 1 of many examples of controversy around the finances of political parties in Poland. In order to guarantee transparency and transparency in the finances of political parties, PKW and another state authorities, action should be taken to address this issue.
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PiS Financial Report: Controversies around PKW decisions
