Poland's largest opposition party, the radical right-wing Law and Justice (PiS), stands to lose tens of millions of zloty in state funding after the National Electoral Commission (PKW) dismissed the party’ financial report covering last year’s election campaign.

PKW questioned PLN3.6mn (€840,000) PiS had spent on the campaign, which allegedly saw the party blur boundaries between state and party resources for electoral gain.

In line with Polish regulations on campaign financing, it is enough to question 1% of overall campaign spending to reject a party’s financial report. 

The PKW's decision will have far-reaching consequences for PiS, which ruled Poland between 2015 and 2023. The party won the most votes again last year but not enough to form a majority.

In addition to having to return the PLN3.6mn, which the PKW questioned, PiS will have its reimbursement for campaign expenses reduced by PLN10mn to PLN28mn only. PiS will also see its annual subsidy reduced by a total of PLN43.2mn over the current term, which ends in 2027.

There’s also a possibility that PiS could be rid of all state funding designated for the party during this term, pending a separate PKW decision. PiS can challenge this ruling in the Supreme Court, a move that the party will almost certainly make.

Predictably, the decision sparked outrage among PiS members and allies. 

Ex-premier for PiS, Mateusz Morawiecki, condemned the ruling, labelling it a "political move" by the current government aimed at "revenge and marginalising the opposition”.

The potential loss of millions in funding could significantly hinder PiS’s operations, particularly in gearing up for the 2025 presidential election. This contest is seen as vital for PiS to effectively counter the agenda of Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government until the 2027 general election, given the prime minister’s insufficient parliamentary support to override presidential vetoes.

“The current government has one goal – to destroy the opposition so that it will not be able to win the presidential elections,” Beata Szydlo, another former prime minister from PiS, said on X.

“By seizing the office of president, Tusk's clique will be able to introduce its rule of lawlessness without any restrictions,” Szydlo also said.

PiS has long been accused by the Tusk-led government of misusing public funds to amplify its electoral outreach. 

In one particularly oft-cited example, the defence ministry organised so-called “military picnics” in the final weeks of the campaign. 

At one such event in August, PiS Chairman Jarosław Kaczynski accused Tusk of being “the personification of evil in Poland” and called Tusk’s political party, the centrist Civic Coalition, a “party of thieves”.

“PiS is learning the true meaning of the words ‘law and justice,’” Tusk quipped in response on his social media.

“[PiS] was full aware of the illegal financing of the campaign … The next step is criminal consequences for those who decided to break the law,” EU Affairs Minister Adam Szlapka said on X.