Poland’s justice minister Adam Bodnar has asked parliament to lift the immunity of former Conservative (PiS) prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki, so he could face criminal charges over his actions during the Covid pandemic.
Morawiecki made an unsuccessful attempt to hold a postal ballot for Poland’s 2020 presidential election.
In September 2020, an administrative court ruled he had committed “a gross violation of the law”, including the constitution and the electoral code, for attempting to hold the postal ballot.
Poland did not have legislation in place for a postal ballot.
Morawiecki’s government spent €13 million preparing before abandoning those plans. PiS-aligned President Andrzej Duda secured a second term in office in a traditional vote in polling stations in the summer of 2020.
Morawiecki argued that according to the constitution the election needed to proceed so an elected president would be in place by August of 2020.
The former PM’s opponents say his failed attempt to hold a postal vote “led to pointless, ineffective and unjustified spending of public funds”.
Morawiecki and his allies argued the government acted to hold a democratic election according to the constitution’s timetable, in a way which ensured public safety during the pandemic.
Morawiecki told reporters he was prepared to wave his parliamentary immunity and felt he “had nothing to hide” since he was “simply following the constitution”.
It appeared likely Tusk’s parliamentary majority would vote to lift Morawiecki’s immunity. Poland’s parliament has approved several other requests to lift the immunity of former officials since Tusk’s centre-left government took power in 2023.
Interior minister Tomasz Siemoniak greeted the news, saying “there are no sacred cows in Poland,” and “no one, not even the prime minister, can take illegal actions” in a post on X.
Morawiecki, who was recently elected to lead the EU’s European Conservative Reformist group, could face three years’ imprisonment if convicted.
A constitutional court ruled Morawiecki had protected the constitution in attempting to hold the postal ballot, but the Tusk government has not recognised that court and has said it was illegitimately constituted.
The PiS opposition for its part has promised those in the current government responsible for crimes against the constitution and the law will be put on trial when the party returns to power.
