On 1 June, Karol Nawrocki, an independent candidate supported by the Law and Justice party (PiS) narrowly won the second round of Poland’s presidential election with 50.9 per cent of the vote. Rafał Trzaskowski, member of the incumbent Civic Platform party and mayor of Warsaw, received 49.1 per cent of the vote. The National Electoral Commission reported voter turnout of 71.6 per cent, up from 68.2 per cent turnout in the 2020 presidential election. Voter turnout in the first round of the election held on 18 May was 67.3 per cent. There were 13 presidential candidates in the first round, including 2 women and 11 men. Observers considered the election competitive and well managed, while noting a polarized media environment limiting voters’ access to impartial information.

Sources: Al Jazeera, National Electoral Commission Poland, International IDEA, Organzation for Security and Co-operation in Europe

On 24 April, council members in Łańcut county voted to repeal a 2019 ‘charter of family rights.’ Łańcut’s move was welcomed by activists as among the last local authorities in Poland to reverse such measures. A majority of 13 of the 18 council members voted to repeal the charter, after the county’s medical centre was cut off from EU funding. In 2024, the Polish Commissioner for Human Rights warned the charter’s exclusion of council funding for certain NGOs, which are seen as undermining the understanding of marriage as a solely heterosexual institution, is discriminatory. From 2019 to 2020, over 100 local authorities adopted resolutions in support of ‘family values’ with some declaring themselves ‘free from LGTBQIA+ ideology’. These resolutions were resisted by Polish courts, including a 2022 ruling by the Supreme Administrative Court. The EU prohibited funding for projects involving local authorities that adopt discriminatory resolutions over concerns of violations of EU law.  

Sources: Notes from Poland (1), Notes from Poland (2), Pink News, Łańcut County, Commissioner for Human Rights 

On 19 April, President Andrzej Duda referred a bill expanding the Penal Code’s hate speech provisions to the Constitutional Tribunal (TK), citing concerns over potential infringements on free speech. The bill adds sexual orientation, gender, age, and disability to the list of protected groups. Currently, publicly insulting a population group or individual based on national, ethnic, racial or religious affiliation is punishable by up to three years in prison, and cases of violence and unlawful threats carry up to five. The Justice Ministry introduced the bill in November 2024, aiming to strengthen protections from discrimination, prejudice and violence for minorities. Parliament voted to approve the bill on 6 March. The government does not recognise the TK’s legitimacy due to contested judicial appointments, refusing to publish its verdicts. It is unclear what will happen if the TK rules that the provisions are unconstitutional. If the government refuses to publish such a ruling, it would be unprecedented. 

Sources: ConstitutionNet, President of the Republic of Poland, Notes from Poland (1), Notes from Poland (2), UNODC, Polskie Radio 

On 13 March, the Parliament approved legislation allowing the government to temporarily suspend the right to asylum for up to 60 days at the border with Belarus. The government justified the legislation, arguing that Belarusian authorities are deliberately encouraging migrants to cross the border to destabilise Poland. The suspension period could potentially be renewed indefinitely with parliamentary approval. The law includes exceptions for vulnerable individuals such as unaccompanied minors, pregnant women, and people with special healthcare needs. There has been vocal resistance from civil society, and a network of Polish and European NGOs jointly expressed alarm at the plans in January 2025. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has expressed concerns over violations of international law, stressing that the non-refoulement obligation applies even in the context of the “so-called ‘weaponization’ of migrants and refugees.” The law was signed by President Andrzej Duda on 26 March. 

Sources: ReliefWeb, UNHCR, Notes from Poland, International IDEA, Sejm, Euronews 

On 4 March, the Supreme Court adopted a resolution simplifying the procedure for changing gender identification in official documents and lifting family litigation requirements. In the absence of a legal procedure to legally change one’s gender, a practice requiring transgender people to sue their parents or legal guardians to achieve this purpose (even as an adult) had developed. The process was often lengthy, costly and traumatic, particularly when parents were unsupportive. The Supreme Court ruled that this can now be accomplished through non-contentious legal action, and that parents should not be treated as parties with a legal interest in gender recognition cases. The resolution was welcomed by civil society, including the Campaign Against Homophobia (KPH), which called it a step in the right direction, while calling for legislation to provide greater legal certainty for gender recognition.

Sources: Notes from Poland (1), Notes from Poland (2),   Supreme Court, KPH, Fundacja Trans-Fuzja 

On 27 February, the Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw charged former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who currently serves as deputy leader of the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, with abuse of power over his attempt to organise a presidential election entirely by postal vote during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the previous PiS-led government scrapped plans to hold an election by postal vote following a dispute in the ruling coalition, after spending an estimated PLN 70 million (EUR 17 million). In the same year, an administrative court found Morawiecki had committed a “gross violation of the law”, undermining the authority of the National Electoral Commission as well as voters’ access to the ballot. The Prosecutor’s charges were brought following the recommendation of a parliamentary investigative commission established in 2023. Morawiecki, who claims the case is politically motivated, has waived his parliamentary immunity. The first trial or hearing dates are yet to be publicly announced. 

Sources: Euractiv, X, Notes from Poland (1), Notes from Poland (2), Notes from Poland (3), Balkan Insight, PAP