The aim of the paper was to explain the essence of the reform of the Polish election law, which took place in 2018. The changes were studied from the perspective of their impact on the process of organisation and preparation of elections. Therefore, four key elements of the reform were selected for analysis: institutional changes concerning commissioners and election officials, change in the position of local government units in the preparation and conduct of elections, live streaming of the work of district electoral Commissions (Obwodowa Komisja Wyborcza) and their appointing their members. The basic research method was the analysis of legal acts and expert interviews. The text highlights a number of problems and shortcomings related to the implementation of the reform. It was found that there are currently no institutions in Poland that have the resources to take over from local government units the tasks related to the preparation and organisation of elections. It was shown that many of the intended objectives of the reform were not achieved, either as a result of the amendments in the pre-election period or as a result of the interpretation aimed at maintaining the actual status quo despite legal changes. The latter phenomenon is the most visible in the institution of the electoral officer.
Celem pracy było wyjaśnienie istoty reformy polskiego prawa wyborczego, która miała miejsce w 2018 roku. Zmiany badano z perspektywy ich wpływu na proces organizacji i przygotowania wyborów. W związku z tym do analizy wybrano cztery kluczowe elementy reformy, takie jak: zmiany instytucjonalne w odniesieniu do komisarzy i urzędników wyborczych, zmiana pozycji jednostek samorządu terytorialnego w przygotowaniu i przeprowadzeniu wyborów, transmisja z prac komisji obwodowych oraz obsada personalna tychże komisji. Podstawową metodą badawczą była analiza aktów prawnych oraz wywiady eksperckie. W tekście wskazano szereg problemów i uchybień związanych z implementacją reformy. Stwierdzono, że nie ma obecnie w Polsce instytucji posiadających zasoby pozwalające na przejęcie od jednostek samorządów terytorialnych zadań z zakresu przygotowania i organizacji wyborów. Wykazano, że wiele zamierzonych celów reformy nie zostało zrealizowanych, czy to na skutek nowelizacji w okresie przedwyborczym, czy wykładni nakierowanej na utrzymanie faktycznego status quo mimo zmian prawnych. W największym stopniu widać to ostatnie zjawisko w instytucji urzędnika wyborczego.
EN
The aim of the paper was to explain the essence of the reform of the Polish election law, which took place in 2018. The changes were studied from the perspective of their impact on the process of organisation and preparation of elections. Therefore, four key elements of the reform were selected for analysis: institutional changes concerning commissioners and election officials, change in the position of local government units in the preparation and conduct of elections, live streaming of the work of district electoral Commissions (Obwodowa Komisja Wyborcza) and their appointing their members. The basic research method was the analysis of legal acts and expert interviews. The text highlights a number of problems and shortcomings related to the implementation of the reform. It was found that there are currently no institutions in Poland that have the resources to take over from local government units the tasks related to the preparation and organisation of elections. It was shown that many of the intended objectives of the reform were not achieved, either as a result of the amendments in the pre-election period or as a result of the interpretation aimed at maintaining the actual status quo despite legal changes. The latter phenomenon is the most visible in the institution of the electoral officer.
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