The deadline for parties to nominate their candidate to the Russian influence commission, as set by the speaker of the the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament, is 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 29.

The law establishing the commission, which will cover the years 2007 to 2022, came into force on May 31, but just after signing it into law, Andrzej Duda, the Polish president, tabled an amendment.

The commission, which under the original law would have had the power to bar politicians from public office if they had been found to have been operating under Russian influence, was subjected to severe criticism with even the US and the EU expressing disapproval.

Critics feared, in particular, the commission could be used as political tool to prevent opposition leader Donald Tusk, who is also a former prime minister, from running in the parliamentary elections which will be held on October 15.

On Friday afternoon, parliamentary clubs were given notice of the deadline date as set by Speaker of the Sejm Elzbieta Witek. 

Marek Ast, a member of the Law and Justice (PiS) presidium, pointed out that the procedure for nominating candidates was launched after an amendment to the law and the adoption of the proposal of President Andrzej Duda.

Ast said that PiS would present a list of its candidates to the committee. “It is quite possible that, if the names of the candidates are known, the members of the commission may be chosen during the sitting of the Sejm on August 30,” he added.