The recent Polish presidential election, which saw a tight victory for Karol Nawrocki, the candidate backed by the ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS), is now under scrutiny following a critical report from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
The OSCE’s election monitoring mission raised concerns about campaign finance transparency, media bias, and the influence of unregulated third-party groups that backed the liberal candidate Rafał Trzaskowski.
While the OSCE acknowledged that basic freedoms were upheld and polling day itself went smoothly, it highlighted significant flaws that compromised the fairness of the election. One major issue was the role of third-party groups that campaigned in favor of Trzaskowski without disclosing their financial sources. These groups, including some independent election observers, used online platforms to support Trzaskowski, spending more money than the official campaign ads of the candidates themselves. The OSCE pointed out that some of these groups spent large sums on social media ads, with two Facebook pages alone spending PLN 487,000 (€114,000) on pro-Trzaskowski and anti-Nawrocki content in just a month.
Even more concerning was the potential involvement of foreign funding. Some of the groups, like Akcja Demokracja and Fat Frogs Media, engaged in substantial digital campaigns, including paid ads on Google and billboards, with sources now under investigation for possible illicit foreign contributions. Shockingly, Polish law does not require these third-party organizations to disclose their spending, and the National Election Commission (NEC) had no authority to regulate these activities during the campaign.
The OSCE also criticized the biased media coverage during the election, particularly from the state-run TVP and private outlets like TVN, which were accused of unfairly portraying Nawrocki negatively, focusing on alleged ties to organized crime, while offering largely favorable coverage of Trzaskowski. Public broadcasters and officials were also found to have violated the principle of neutrality, with state institutions blurring the lines between governance and electioneering.
Despite these criticisms, the OSCE concluded that the election process itself was generally well-organized, with smooth voting and counting procedures. However, it warned that the lack of oversight, particularly in relation to online campaigning and financial transparency, undermined the integrity of the electoral process.
