Sejm rejects police motion to lift immunity of Confederation MP Sławomir Mentzen over Independence March flare
The Polish Sejm voted 227 to 210 on Thursday to reject a police request to waive the immunity of Confederation party leader Sławomir Mentzen, who lit a flare during last November's Independence March in defiance of a ban.
The vote
On Thursday, the Sejm fell short of the absolute majority required to lift the immunity of Confederation co-leader Sławomir Mentzen. Of the 439 deputies present, 227 voted in favor of the police motion, 210 voted against, and two abstained. The tally needed 231 votes, meaning the request was rejected despite majority support among those voting.
The Sejm did not agree to lift my immunity for the flare at the Independence March! They needed 231 votes, Tusk managed to gather only 227.
The incident
The case stems from the Independence March on 11 November 2025, where Mentzen lit a flare in violation of a ban on pyrotechnics imposed by Mazovian voivode Mariusz Frankowski. The MP posted photographs of the act on social media. Warsaw police filed a request to the Chief of Police, Marek Boroń, who formally submitted it to the Sejm on 20 March. The regulatory committee recommended lifting immunity at the end of May.
- Mentzen lights a flare at the Independence March despite a ban by the Mazovian voivode and posts it online.
- Police Chief Marek Boroń sends a request to the Sejm to lift Mentzen's immunity.
- Sejm vote fails to achieve the required 231 majority; Mentzen retains immunity with 227 for, 210 against, and 2 abstentions.
Political defense
Speaking before the vote, Mentzen claimed the motion was politically motivated, noting he had lit flares at numerous other events without repercussions. "This time I stood in front of a banner that read ‘Poland today demands: send Tusk back to Berlin,’" he said. He insisted he could pay a 500 zł fine but that the case was about a principle: "You want to punish an opposition MP for expressing his opinion about the government. Times have changed, Tusk has not."
People holding a parliamentary mandate should set an example in obeying the law and be held accountable on the same terms as other citizens.
The political arithmetic
The vote saw the entire Law and Justice (PiS) caucus vote against lifting immunity, along with Confederation and smaller opposition groupings. The left-wing Razem party also opposed the motion. From the ruling coalition, Robert Dowhan (Civic Coalition) voted against, while Jarosław Rzepa (Polish People’s Party) and Adam Luboński (Poland 2050) abstained. Sławomir Ćwik of the Centrum party also broke ranks. The result triggered applause from opposition benches and celebrations on social media by Mentzen, who framed it as a victory over Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government.
