Polish MPs reject bid to dismiss parliamentary Speaker

Politicians from the governing Law and Justice (PiS) party have denied accusations that a December vote on the draft 2017 budget was illegal.

The vote led to opposition deputies staging a sit-in for almost four weeks amid a political crisis that threatened to paralyse the parliament.

A total of 241 deputies on Wednesday voted to reject the opposition motion to dismiss Speaker Marek Kuchciński, while 174 supported the bid and 24 abstained.

The motion was expected to fail since Kuchciński hails from Law and Justice, which has a majority in the lower house.

Politicians from the opposition Civic Platform (PO) party had demanded the Speaker should lose his job.

They claimed that legislative work on the draft 2017 budget was marred by “serious legal defects because it took place in violation of the Polish constitution and the rules of the Sejm," the lower chamber.

Kuchciński came under fire when he excluded an opposition deputy from debate in parliament on 16 December after the MP raised the issue of contentious plans to change media access to the parliamentary building.

Opposition MPs then stormed the rostrum, blocking proceedings, and conducted a sit-in.

After several hours of recess, the debate was moved to an ancillary hall, and the budget vote was held by a show of hands.

The vote was slammed as illegal by opposition parties, who questioned whether a quorum was met. Some opposition MPs also claimed they were not allowed entry into the ancillary hall and thus not allowed to take part in the vote.

Law and Justice has denied such charges.

The opposition sit-in protest continued until 12 January.

(pk)