On September 8, 2025, members of the Auxiliator Foundation for Civil Liberties had the pleasure of attending the public hearing of candidates for the position of President of the Supreme Audit Office (NIK). The event took place in the Henryk Wujec Hall of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, under the patronage of Speaker of the Sejm Szymon Hołownia and Speaker of the Senate Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska. It was the first public hearing in history of candidates applying for the position of President of the Supreme Audit Office.

The meeting was attended by representatives of trade unions, scientific community, business and employer organizations, as well as NGOs. As a NGO organization, we had the opportunity to ask questions to both candidates.

The following candidates were nominated for the position of President of the Supreme Audit Office:

• Tadeusz Dziuba – nominated by a group of parliamentarians,
• Mariusz Haładyj – nominated by Speaker of the Sejm Szymon Hołownia.

After opening speeches by the Speaker of the Sejm and the Speaker of the Senate, the candidates presented their visions for managing the Supreme Audit Office.

Tadeusz Dziuba emphasized the need for changes in the structure of NIK’s College, including the exclusion of the General Director from its composition. He proposed the creation of a new body – the Presidium of NIK, composed of the President and Vice-Presidents, which would be granted new powers. He also stressed the need for legislative changes, for eg., introducing the possibility for the Speaker of the Sejm to appoint deputies to the President of NIK in the event of inaction. He advocated for abolishing the position of Adviser to the President of NIK and limiting the powers of the General Director. Among organizational changes, he proposed eliminating special allowances for auditors and developing a system for evaluating their work.

Mariusz Haładyj focused on rationalizing administration. He presented ten priorities which, in his view, should form the basis of the President of NIK’s activities. These included risk-based planning, participatory cooperation, digital transformation, and monitoring the effectiveness of actions. He emphasized the importance of impartiality, transparency, and independence of the Supreme Audit Office from political influence. He also pointed to the need for better auditing of public procurement and the issue of data collection on citizens. He also highlighted the need for generational renewal within the institution, pointing out that too few employees are currently under the age of 40.

Next, the Q&A session with the candidates began. The Auxiliator Foundation asked the following questions:

1. What would the criteria for assessing the inactivity of the President of NIK look like, and who would be responsible for verifying them? (to Tadeusz Dziuba)
2. What are the reasons behind the proposal to abolish the position of Adviser to the President? Wouldn’t this negatively affect the efficiency of the institution’s work, and how might trade unions perceive this? (to Tadeusz Dziuba)
3. Do you intend to make use of the power to submit motions to the Constitutional Tribunal, and if so – in what scope? (to Mariusz Haładyj)

In response to the first question, Tadeusz Dziuba referred to the experience of previous Presidents of NIK, stressing that detailed matters should be determined by law. To the second question, he replied that, in his view, the position of Adviser to the President is not essential, as it does not directly participate in audit activities. He considered it a sinecure position that should be abolished. We did not receive an answer to the third question addressed to Mariusz Haładyj.

The recording of the hearing is available on the official YouTube channel of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland.

We sincerely thank the Chancellery of the Sejm for the invitation to participate in this event and wish both candidates success.

Auxiliator Foundation for Civil Liberties