I have no doubts today that the candidacy of the PiS MP Bartłomiej Wróblewski for the position of the Ombudsman will not be approved by the democratic Senate – said independent senator Krzysztof Kwiatkowski on Friday. – This candidacy will receive 48 votes in favor, 50 against, one vote abstaining, and one of the senators will not take part in the vote – he added.
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During the vote on Thursday The Sejm elected a PiS deputy, lawyer Bartłomiej Wróblewski as the Ombudsman. The candidates for lawyer Sławomir Patyra and social activist Piotr Ikonowicz were not voted on. This was the fourth approach to selecting the Ombudsman. In order for Wróblewski to take the office of spokesman, his candidacy must be approved by the Senate, where the opposition has the upper hand. The term of office of the current spokesman, Adam Bodnar, expired on September 9, 2020.
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Wróblewski announced on Friday that he would send an official letter to the Marshal of the Senate, Tomasz Grodzki, requesting a meeting in the coming days. He added that he would also send similar letters to all clubs and senate circles.
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Bartłomiej Wróblewski will be the guest of Friday’s program “Checking” on TVN24.
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“This candidacy will not be approved by the democratic Senate”
Independent senator Krzysztof Kwiatkowski said at Friday’s press conference that he would vote against Wróblewski’s candidacy. He emphasized that the Polish constitution “is closest to him as a citizen”, and there, he added, says that “the Ombudsman protects civil rights and freedoms”. – Upholds the rights and civil liberties of everyone, including women, who are deprived of these rights. The Ombudsman, as stated in the constitution, is independent and independent from all authorities, he added.
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Kwiatkowski stressed that the Ombudsman “is to be an advocate of citizens, not the party and the government. He said that “there is no doubt today that this candidacy will not be approved by the democratic Senate.”
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– I will even tell you a secret what will be the result of this vote. This candidacy will receive 48 (votes – ed.) For, 50 against, one stopping vote, and one of the senators will not take part in the vote – he added. – I will also tell you what will happen next. Nothing, because there will no longer be a majority in the Sejm, neither for the election of a new spokesman in the parliament, nor for the amendment of the Act on the Human Rights Defender – he assessed.
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He added that “fortunately we are prepared for it”.
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– On the basis of statutory provisions, the spokesman Adam Bodnar will authorize one of his deputies to continue performing these duties within the three months indicated in the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal of Julia Przyłębska. It is a procedure not only described by law, but also accepted by PiS – said Kwiatkowski.
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He recalled that when he left the function of the president of the Supreme Audit Office and his successor was not yet elected, he authorized one of the vice-presidents of the Supreme Audit Office in writing. – I submitted this letter to Marshal Elżbieta Witek, who accepted it, and one of my vice-presidents, it was Wojciech Kutyła, performed the duties of managing the office until the new president of the Supreme Chamber of Control was elected – he added.
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“The Democratic Senate will not lend a hand to this”
Senator Marcin Bosacki (Koalicja Obywatelska) said that MP Wróblewski, already six years old, “voted in 99 percent of cases in line with the PiS line.” – In court cases, in the cases of Jarosław Kaczyński’s attack on free courts, the Constitutional Tribunal was the face of PiS, the face of these attacks.
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– We declare that a free Senate, a democratic Senate will not lend a hand to the fact that one of the last, constitutional offices of the Republic, which is to serve citizens and not the ruling party, will be appropriated by Jarosław Kaczyński, he stressed.
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The Constitutional Tribunal, chaired by Julia Przyłębska, ruled on Thursday that the provision of the Act on the Human Rights Defenderwhich allows him to perform the duties of the Ombudsman after the expiry of the term of office until the position is taken up by the successor, is inconsistent with the Constitution. The provision is to expire three months after the publication of the judgment in the Journal of Laws, which took place on Thursday, April 15.
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photo-source">Main photo source: TVN24
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