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Presidential elections are being held in Poland on May 18, with 13 candidates in the running. But a scandal is surrounding the campaign and jeopardizing the process. Tusk's government revokes the licenses of two conservative television stations...
Poland's National Electoral Commission (PKW) confirmed the final list of 13 candidates who will run in the May 18 presidential election, but scandal erupted after five of them were excluded from a debate on state television.
The thirteen contenders in the election were selected from 17 candidates who applied to run for the position of President.
Four candidacies were rejected by the PKW, which ruled that some of the required signatures were invalid. Some of the candidates had submitted thousands of names that belonged to dead people, according to reports.
The elections are seen as crucial for Poland's future as Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk's pro-European Union coalition faces the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party.
The current president, Andrzej Duda, who is an ally of PiS, is completing his second term in office and will step down. While the president has limited powers under the Polish constitution, he could still make life difficult for the Union coalition.
With the confirmation of the candidates, a new scandal erupted after five of the candidates were excluded from a televised debate. Poland's state broadcaster Telewizja Polska (TVP) has come under fire after a presidential debate on April 11th excluded five registered candidates, followed by warnings of legal action that could cancel the upcoming elections.
In parallel, Tusk was accused of overstepping the principles of freedom of speech after a Warsaw court revoked the broadcasting licenses of two conservative television stations the day before, TV Republika and wPolsce 24.
The debate, held in the town of Końskie, was officially classified as a campaign event organized by Rafał Trzaskowski, the liberal mayor of Warsaw and candidate for the Civic Coalition (KO) in the presidential election, which is led by Tusk.
Although jointly moderated by TVP and private networks TVN and Polsat, the format and organization drew criticism for violating the Polish electoral code, which mandates equal airtime and access to the debate for all registered presidential candidates.
Originally conceived on April 9 as a bilateral exchange between leading candidate Trzaskowski and Karol Nawrocki, the candidate for the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party who is in second place according to polls, the event sparked immediate opposition.
Rival candidates condemned what they perceived as violations of the law, with some traveling to Końskie to take part in an alternative debate organized by the conservative TV Republika channel, which has now closed.
Szymon Hołownia, Speaker of the Sejm and candidate for a ruling coalition party, said he intended to appear in the debate despite the controversy.
Trzaskowski changed course just two hours before the debate was to begin, inviting all candidates to join in under pressure from Nawrocki, who expressed solidarity with those excluded. However, the short notice drew criticism from candidates who were unable to arrive on time.
Slawomir Mentzen of the Confederation party, third with over 15%, was 200 km away on a campaign tour, while left-wing candidate Adrian Zandberg, with 5%, was engaged in a meeting with President Duda.
Mentzen labeled the situation a "circus" by "Belarusian debate standards," accusing Trzaskowski and Nawrocki of a "coordinated organization," Brussels Signal reports.
Confederation MP Przemysław Wipler argued on social media that the event constituted “grounds for annulling the elections.” Zandberg announced plans to report Trzaskowski’s campaign to the public prosecutor for alleged violations of electoral law.
Tensions escalated further when Trzaskowski's security team forcibly removed journalists from conservative outlets TV Republika and wPolsce24, and denied access to some of Nawrocki's campaign staff. Republican Party candidate Marek Jakubiak said he was initially denied entry but eventually found his way in, while independent candidate Krzysztof Stanowski complained about a lack of clarity in the debate procedures even after he was admitted.
The debate lasted over three hours and was broadcast widely on multiple networks. A dramatic moment occurred when Nawrocki placed a rainbow flag on Trzaskowski’s podium to emphasize his opponent’s support for LGBT rights. Trzaskowski removed the flag, saying he identified “only with the Polish flag.” In response, Magdalena Biejat, the Left candidate, took the flag and declared that she “had no problem identifying with LGBT people.”
The first round of the presidential election is scheduled for May 18, while a possible runoff will be held on June 1.
Notes from Poland report that the final list of candidates (in alphabetical order) is:
Bartoszewicz, Artur
The Falls, Magdalena
Braun, Grzegorz
Hołownia, Szymon
Jakubiak, Marek
Maciak, Maciej
Mentzen, Slavomir
Nawrocki, Karol
Senyszyn, Joanna
Stanowski, Krzysztof
Trzaskowski, Rafal
Woch, Marek
Zandberg, Adrian /Adapted from Pamphlet/
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