Poland’s nationalist-controlled parliament on Friday passed a controversial law establishing a commission to investigate “Russian influence in Poland”, which the opposition called a “constitutional coup”, ahead of autumn parliamentary elections, AFP reported.

The commission, made up of nine members elected by the lower house, will be able to decide whether the person in question was exposed to Russian influence between 2007 and 2022 and will be able to convict him.

The government has not foreseen any possibility of appealing these decisions, unless there are formal violations in the work of the commission.

The convicted person may be banned for 10 years from holding public positions related to access to state finances and classified information, in order to “prevent repeated actions under the influence of Russia to the detriment of the interests of the Republic of Poland,” the message states. law.

According to critics of the new law, the creation of this commission violates the constitutional principles of the separation of political and judicial power, a body that assumes the powers of both the prosecutor and the court.

According to the opposition and several commentators, the law is intended to embarrass opponents of the populist Law and Justice (PiS) party ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for the fall, and prevent Tusk and other politicians from opposing camps from holding positions of responsibility if they win. election.

The text was rejected by the opposition-controlled Senate in early May, but the nationalist majority managed to pass it in a second vote in the lower house on Friday, with 234 votes in favor and 219 against.

During the vote in the Senate, independent senator Krzysztof Kwiatkowski said that “this act overturns the principles of Western civilization based on respect for the law: it is as if a gang of Huns decided to create a law.”

Other senators called the law a “witch hunt” and a “puppet court.”

The head of the commission will be appointed by the Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki. Its members are not responsible for their decisions.

To enter into force, the law still needs to be signed by Polish President Andrzej Duda, who is also a member of the current government, but has not yet commented on the matter.