Karol Nawrocki also blocked a fast-track divorce bill, arguing that marriage should not be reduced to an administrative formality.
Poland’s opposition Conservative, PiS-aligned President Karol Nawrocki has vetoed changes to the electoral code proposed in legislation introduced by the government.
He has accused the centre-left administration led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk of tampering with the electoral process, arguing that it was seeking to take control of election committees that supervise elections and count votes.
Justifying his veto, Nawrocki said the legislation raised “serious doubts regarding the impartiality and transparency of the electoral process”.
“It does not strengthen the fairness of elections. It does not increase citizens’ trust. On the contrary, it creates justified concerns about the possibility of political influence where absolute neutrality must prevail,” he said.
The President was particularly concerned by the legislation’s attempt to strengthen the role of secretaries of local election commissions, who would be appointed by municipal mayors rather than chosen within the election committees themselves.
“Until now, the division of roles within an electoral commission was based on the democratic choice of its members, and that is a very sound principle,” Nawrocki said in rejecting the change.
He added that the official’s powers would be broadened to include decisions over the membership of election committees, rather than leaving that authority to the collective electoral body.
“This was not meant to be an ordinary technical official. In practice, it would be a ‘super-chair’ of the electoral commission,” Nawrocki stated.
After coming to office, the Tusk government has already secured a majority on the National Electoral Commission, the body charged with the organisation and supervision of elections at national level.
The justice ministry has also attempted to appoint regional election commissioners from among judges regarded as sympathetic to the government.
Reacting to the President’s veto, Tusk said Nawrocki was “undermining the functioning of the state”. He also suggested that the move raised suspicions that allegations surrounding the 2025 presidential election, in which some claimed election committees had been packed with right-wing appointees, may have been justified.
After the 2025 election, some members of Tusk’s party attempted to challenge the result by claiming that certain election committee members had tampered with votes. Neither prosecutors nor the courts found evidence of wrongdoing.
On the same day, April 30, Nawrocki also vetoed a change in legislation that would have made it possible for couples without minor children to obtain a divorce without a court decision.
The head of state justified the decision by saying that, while he had no objection to streamlining the work of the state, he could not accept that matters concerning marriage “should be reduced to an administrative formality”.
Marriage “is not simply an entry in a register; it is one of the foundations of our social order”, Nawrocki argued.
Since marriage is a protected institution in Poland, he said the state should not focus on “making separation easier” but on “supporting durability”.
Therefore, “a court’s decision to end a marriage should not be a formality but a guarantee that the decision on divorce is well-considered, genuine and not harmful to either party”, he added.
Nawrocki signalled that he was firmly opposed to making divorce easier.
“A Las Vegas-style marriage, quick to enter into and easy to end, may make for an interesting movie scene, but in a serious state, law and legislation are not about writing a film script,” he said.
“Marriage is not a trivial matter or a fleeting whim. It is an institution under special protection of the state.”
