May 30, 2023 at 12:23 PM GMT+5:30 The United States stepped up its criticism of a new law that allows Poland’s ruling party to investigate opposition leader Donald Tusk, claiming that the legislation could be misused to interfere with a tightly contested election this year. This row over the law threatens to harm Poland’s relations with the United States.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller stated that the United States “shares the concerns expressed by many observers” that the panel “could be used to block the candidacy of opposition politicians without due process” shortly after President Andrzej Duda approved the formation of a special parliamentary panel to investigate Russia’s meddling in Poland between 2007 and 2022.
The law takes steps to harm Warsaw’s relations with the US when Poland has turned into the primary entryway for help and arms shipped off Ukraine since Russian intrusion started a year ago. Poland is an eastern NATO member state that the United States has sent 10,000 troops into. President Joe Biden visited Poland twice in less than a year.
Warsaw’s government has also tried to build close economic ties with the United States, signing a deal to build the first nuclear power plant in the country and placing numerous orders for military equipment.
The new law gives the investigating committee unprecedented authority, including the ability to effectively stop officials from running for public office without going through the traditional court system. The panel, according to critics, aims to discredit and possibly prevent important opposition politicians from participating in the elections in October and represents a further erosion of democratic standards by this government.
“We approach the public authority of Poland to guarantee this regulation doesn’t appropriate citizens’ capacity to decide in favor of up-and-comer of their decision and that it not be summoned or manhandled in manners that could influence the apparent authenticity of races,” Mill operator said in the explanation.
Duda argued that the new law is necessary to demonstrate the extent of Russia’s influence in Poland, which he referred to as a fact.
He stated to reporters, “Public opinion must make its own decision about the actions of the representatives they choose in the general election.”
Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the head of the decision Regulation and Equity party, has for quite a long time denounced Tusk — his super political opponent — of enduring Russian impact during his residency as state leader before 2015.
The law has been criticized by lawyers for parliament as a violation of EU regulations, and the country’s human rights ombudsman has said that parts of it are against the constitution.
The law’s supporters, according to Tusk, are “cowards,” and it intends to “eliminate” the government’s biggest potential rival in the upcoming elections.
During campaigning, the move puts the issue of alleged Russian meddling front and center. The public authority has faulted Russia for all that from spreading falsehood to being behind high expansion since the beginning of battle in Ukraine.
Duda stated that in addition to signing the bill into law, he will request a review from the country’s highest court due to concerns about its constitutionality.
Source – Bloomberg
