The second round of Poland’s presidential election, which ended in a narrow win for Law and Justice–backed candidate Karol Nawrocki, has come under scrutiny following a critical report by the OSCE’s election monitoring body.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) conducted an observer mission in Poland during the election campaign, and highlighted serious concerns about campaign finance transparency, partisan conduct by public officials and broadcasters, and the influence of unregulated third-party campaigning in support of liberal candidate Rafał Trzaskowski.
While the OSCE acknowledged that fundamental freedoms were respected and polling day itself was orderly and professional, its preliminary findings point to structural flaws that undermined electoral fairness. Foremost among them was the use of opaque third-party campaigning, with several non-party groups — including some nominally independent election observers — actively campaigning for Trzaskowski, especially online, without being obliged to disclose their spending.
“Several third parties, including voter mobilization and election observer associations, campaigned in favour of Mr. Trzaskowski, including online, but were not subject to legal requirements for disclosure of the origins of their income and expenditure,” the report stated.
According to the report, these third parties were able to outspend the candidates themselves in the digital sphere. External investigations revealed that just two Facebook pages — Wiesz Jak Nie Jest and Stół Dorosłych — spent a combined PLN 487,000 (€114,000) on pro-Trzaskowski and anti-Nawrocki ads in less than a month, eclipsing the official digital ad budgets of both candidates. Additional campaigns by activist groups like Akcja Demokracja, which paid for hundreds of digital billboards, and Fat Frogs Media, which spent over PLN 130,000 (€30,500) on Google ads, were also noted. Many of these activities are now under investigation for possible illicit foreign funding.
Despite these significant and influential interventions in Poland’s democracy, Polish law does not require such third-party actors to register or report their finances, nor does the National Election Commission (NEC) have the authority to intervene during the campaign period.
The report revealed that one of the firms behind the ads, Estratos Digital GmbH, is backed by the US-based Higher Ground Labs and funded ads via a Polish NGO.
“The NEC, mandated with campaign finance oversight, is not entitled to act upon alleged violations during the campaign,” the report said. In a revealing admission, the NEC told OSCE observers that enforcing compliance before election day “could be perceived as inconsistent and politically motivated,” effectively leaving the campaign period unregulated.
The OSCE warned that this lack of oversight severely weakened the integrity and accountability of the electoral process. “The insufficient regulation of third-party campaigning, particularly online, combined with the lack of effective oversight and sanctions, further exacerbated existing legal loopholes,” the report stated.
Beyond campaign finance, the OSCE highlighted the deeply polarized media landscape, where public broadcaster TVP and private channels like TVN were accused of clear bias. Coverage of Nawrocki was described as overwhelmingly negative, often focusing on alleged connections to organized crime, while Trzaskowski enjoyed preferential treatment.
“Contrary to its mandate, public television, along with private TVN and Onet, often portrayed Mr. Nawrocki in a negative manner, while the coverage of Mr. Trzaskowski was largely uncritical,” the OSCE noted.
State institutions also failed to maintain impartiality, according to the report. Public officials were frequently involved in campaign activities, and the line between governance and electioneering was repeatedly blurred. In one case, a citizen observer organization openly endorsed Trzaskowski, undermining the role of such bodies as neutral watchdogs.
Despite these criticisms, the OSCE noted that the vote itself was generally well-managed at polling stations and that counting and tabulation proceeded smoothly, raising no concerns over the legitimacy of the actual result.
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