PHOTO: Poland’s new Speaker Elzbieta Witek (center) after being election results are announced on August 9, 2019.
On August 9, 2019, Poland’s Sejm (lower house of Parliament) elected Interior Minister Elzbieta Witek as Speaker, replacing former Speaker Marek Kuchcinski who submitted his resignation earlier that day.
Both Speaker Elzbieta Witek and former Speaker Marek Kuchcinski are members of the ruling Law and Justice (Prawo i Sprawiedliwosc, PiS) party. With the PiS commanding a majority in parliament, new Speaker Witek won with the backing of 245 of 419 members present in the 460-seat lower house.
"We have little time before the end of this term of the parliament. I think no one can deny my patriotism or moral qualifications," Witek addressed the Sejm after the election results were announced, adding that she would treat each member of the parliament equally and that she did not feel superior to any of her colleagues.
Speaker Elzbieta Witek served as a schoolteacher for 25 years before becoming a Member of Parliament for the PiS in 2005. She had served as Interior Minister since May 2019 in a government reshuffle following the departure of some PiS ministers to serve in the European Parliament.
She had submitted her resignation as Interior Miniter just hours before elected as Speaker of the Parliament, and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki later appointed Secret Service Chief Mariusz Kaminski as the new Interior Minister.
Parliamentary elections will be held in October. The Speaker of the Sejm (officially known as Marshal) is constitutionally the second most important role in Poland. Should the President die in office or be otherwise unable to fulfill his duties, the Speaker takes his place. This last happened in April 2010 when Bronislaw Komorowski served as acting president following the death of President Lech Kaczynski.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-08/10/c_138299303.htm
https://emerging-europe.com/news/elzbieta-witek-made-speaker-of-polish-parliament/
https://www.france24.com/en/20190809-polish-parliament-elects-new-speaker-after-expenses-scandal
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/aug/9/polish-parliament-picks-new-speaker-seeking-to-end/
BY MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr) |
