Parliament in Poland passed a law on Monday providing that the presidential election, the first round of which is scheduled for May 10, will be by mail only, to reduce the risk of the spread of the coronavirus. This measure was proposed and voted by the conservative nationalist party in power Law and Justice (PiS), which refuses the postponement of this poll. The opposition, as well as two thirds of the Poles according to a poll, are in favor of postponing this ballot in two rounds, by direct universal suffrage.
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The law passed Monday evening however provides that during the state of epidemic, the president of the Diet (lower house) can modify the date initially planned, while remaining within the framework established by the Constitution. Commentators say this would delay the election by a week, saving the face of the leader of an allied PiS party, Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Gowin. The latter, opposed to the date of May 10, announced his resignation Monday morning, while maintaining his training in the coalition led by the PiS.
The Polish basic law specifies that the election of the head of state must take place on a non-working day, at the earliest 100 days and at the latest 75 days before the end of the mandate of the outgoing president. This gives three possibilities: Sundays 3, 10 and 17 May. Analysts say the PiS is concerned that its candidate, head of state Andrzej Duda, may not be re-elected if the poll is held later, when the consequences of the pandemic affect the national economy. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki admitted on Monday morning that Poland expected a peak in contamination in May or June.
Monday evening, the assessment of the coronavirus amounted in Poland to 4,413 infected people, including 107 deaths.
