Sejm chooses new top court judge amid controversy

The Sejm, the lower chamber of Polish parliament, has chosen Zbigniew Jędrzejewski as a new Constitutional Tribunal judge, with 233 MPs present and voting, 227 were for and 6 abstained. The voting wasn't free from controversy. Małgorzata Zwiercan from Kukiz'15 was caught "ghost voting" as she cast a vote for her absent colleague Kornel Morawiecki. He explained that he "asked her to do it," because he felt ill. Morawiecki said that "nothing bad has happened... I believe that if I asked somebody, then its morally legitimate [to vote in his name]." Zwiercan admitted to wrongdoing. She was later expelled from her parliamentary caucus and Morawiecki has quit. Now, the two may face criminal charges. Following the incident, opposition leaders demanded a repeat vote, but the Marshall of the Sejm refused the request.