Karol Nawrocki and direct democracy

Karol Nawrocki w trakcie swojej kampanii prezydenckiej (Fot. PAP/Lech Muszyński)

Before the second round of elections, Karol Nawrocki solemnly assured during a rally at Kwiatowy Square in Katowice: "I will be a president who will support direct democracy and will give voice to citizens."

At the same time, the presidential candidate, supported by Law and Justice, argued that citizens are ready to take responsibility for the country, so if he wins the election, he will propose a new law on a nationwide referendum. "I will ask you for your opinion on fundamental issues facing the Polish state, which politicians are currently struggling to address. I will ask whether we want to reject the Green Deal together," Nawrocki said.

Karol Nawrocki also referred to the reform of the system and the functioning of courts in Poland based on the referendum decision: "If politicians do not fix the justice system by February 2026, we will fix it and I will call a referendum on this matter, because we want to live in a Poland where we believe that we can count on a fair trial."

As we know, on June 1st of this year, Karol Nawrocki was elected President of the Republic of Poland. Did the Katowice Declaration on supporting direct democracy in our country help him defeat Rafał Trzaskowski? We don't know. However, we do know that the newly elected President of the Republic of Poland has unequivocally supported direct democratic decision-making in our country. Such a declaration undoubtedly carries a binding obligation.

Nawrocki, admittedly, did not elaborate on this topic, so we don't know in what form and, above all, to what extent he intends to introduce instruments of direct democracy into the decision-making process in Poland. Does he intend to use these instruments only selectively, or perhaps reform them completely? He only mentioned a new law on a nationwide referendum. Will he also seek constitutional changes to promote citizen co-decision-making? What about improving direct democracy at the local level? What about an effective citizens' initiative, not to mention a veto on legislation?

We are therefore confronted with general and well-sounding announcements of citizen involvement in the decision-making process. Does this declaration have a historical dimension? Let's wait for the specifics...