Before autumn parliamentary elections: EU politicians want OSCE observers in Poland

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“We come from different groups and from different countries, but we all share the concern that the elections will not be conducted according to the highest democratic standards,” says a letter signed by the leaders of five of the seven political groups in the director of the European Parliament . of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Matteo Mecacci. Only the conservative ECR group – which also includes the Polish PiS party – and the right-wing national parliamentary group Identity and Democracy have not signed the letter published early Wednesday morning.

The letter was signed by the leaders of the Greens, the Christian Democratic European People’s Party (EPP), the Social Democrats, the liberal Renew Europe group and Die Linke. In the EU and NATO country of Poland, many government critics fear the National Conservatives, in power since 2015, could cling to power and set the course so that they cannot be replaced by the opposition after the election . Concerns about the survival of democracy are on the rise.

The letter goes on to say that other worrying developments had been observed ahead of this year’s elections: new polling stations would only be set up in small towns and villages, areas that would typically vote for the current governing coalition. A law recently passed by Poland’s governing party PiS, which provides for the appointment of a commission of inquiry into Russian influence, has also been criticized.

It is feared that the committee’s main aim is to prevent members of the opposition from taking office if elected. Observers say the law seems tailor-made to discredit opposition leader Donald Tusk during the election campaign or even ban him from political life.

Against this background, it is crucial that election observers follow all important aspects of the Polish election process. In addition, an Election Observation Mission should monitor the election campaign, the role of the media, voting, election day counting and post-election complaints.

(SDA)

Source: Blick