Polish justice minister urges recount over vote irregularities in presidential runoff
Poland’s Justice Minister and Prosecutor General, Adam Bodnar, has said his office is preparing a formal request for a recount in hundreds of electoral commissions following the discovery of statistical anomalies during the second round of the country’s presidential election.
Adam Bodnar, Poland’s Justice Minister and Prosecutor General, is preparing a formal request for a recount in electoral commissions amid vote irregularities in the presidential runoff, while MP Roman Giertych has called for a criminal investigation into alleged vote tampering.Photo: PAP/Szymon Pulcyn/Prokuratura Krajowa
“We are preparing in a very professional manner to demand a recount in those commissions where statistical anomalies have been identified,” Bodnar said during a media appearance broadcast by TVN24.
He stressed that the irregularities appear to affect “significantly more commissions” than the handful already reviewed.
Bodnar added that the matter should be addressed by the Supreme Court’s Chamber of Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs. “If it fails to act, the prosecution will likely have to intervene,” he warned.
Supreme Court to review nearly 50,000 protests over vote count in Poland
The Ministry of Justice is reportedly getting ready to request a recount in potentially 800 to 1,000 voting commissions, far more than the dozen or so cases already examined.
The concerns stem from discrepancies identified in the vote counts that suggest possible procedural violations.
A public session of the Supreme Court is scheduled for Friday, 27 June, to review nearly 50,000 official protests related to alleged vote-counting irregularities by local electoral commissions. So far, three of these protests have been upheld.
Bodnar has called for all properly filed complaints to be considered, regardless of whether they raise duplicate claims. However, the Supreme Court has pushed back, warning that such a request could overwhelm and destabilise its operations.
According to recent reports, the District Prsecutor’s Office in Opole, southwestern Poland, has launched an investigation into irregularities in the operations of electoral commissions in the towns of Olesno and Strzelce Opolskie during the secound round of the presidential election, which may have affected the results in those districts.
Polish presidential election 2025: Giertych demands criminal probe into alleged vote tampering
Meanwhile, Roman Giertych – a prominent Polish MP, lawyer, and member of the ruling Civic Coalition (KO) – has publicly questioned the legitimacy of Poland’s recent presidential runoff.
In a formal petition shared via social media, he urged Justice Minister Adam Bodnar to launch a criminal investigation into alleged vote tampering.
Giertych’s appeal includes a request for prosecutors to examine the conduct of local electoral commission members and to order a physical inspection of all ballots cast on 1 June in the second round of the election.
The politician alleges that vote counts were deliberately falsified to benefit certain candidates and says his complaint refers both to already identified irregularities and suspected fraud that may still be uncovered.
(mp)
Source: IAR/TVN24/X/@Adbodnar/@GiertychRoman/@SN_RP_/@Prok_Regio_WRO
