Anna Grodzka Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Anna Grodzka, a member of parliament from the Palikot's Movement party and the first transgender MP in Poland, has failed in her bid to become deputy speaker of Sejm (the lower house of Polish parliament).

Her candidacy was proposed after Palikot's Movement withdrew its support for its previous deputy speaker, Wanda Nowicka, who accepted a controversial bonus for her work in parliament. Traditionally, all parties in the Sejm are allowed to nominate a deputy speaker.

Ms Grodzka's candidacy didn't even come to a vote, because a majority of MPs voted against Ms Nowicka's dismissal – 245 opposed removing her, while only 45 voted to strip her of the position.

After the vote, Ms Nowicka thanked everyone who wanted her to stay on as deputy speaker.

“This vote transcended party lines,” she said. Janusz Palikot, the party's founder and president, announced that he will recommend that Ms Nowicka be removed from his party.

Jacek Ciesnowski