Speaker of the Sejm, Elżbieta Witek, has set the date of the presidential elections in Poland for June 28th. This date allows for the avoiding of a situation in which the highest office in the country would remain vacant, following the end of Andrzej Duda’s term of office on August 6th as President of Poland.
Candidates for President of Poland have time to register committees until June 5th, and until June 10th to propose candidates. Existing candidates do not have to register committees once more, however Rafał Trzaskowski is not exempt from this ruling.
“Now, we start the presidential campaign, honestly, I presume. The first round is on June 28th, and a possible second on July 12th, so that before August 6th the President can be sworn in”, stated the Speaker of the Sejm, Elżbieta Witek.
Yesterday, the Sejm passed a bill on presidential elections, with most of the amendments introduced by the Senate in the evening signed by President Andrzej Duda, and later published in the daily newspaper. On its basis it will be possible to vote by correspondence, which must be reported in the municipal office by 16 June. In case of people living abroad, it must be reported before June 13th, those quarantined and in isolation can report this until June 23rd, and if one’s quarantine begins after the announcement of the election date by the Speaker of the Sejm, this date is postponed to June 26th.
“It is good that all of this legal chaos is behind us, as it was unnecessary for all Poles. It seems that although there is not much time, only three weeks, it is enough to organize these elections, mainly in the traditional form. How many Poles will decide to vote by absentee ballot – we do not know”, columnist Jacek Prusinowski commented on the matter.
In an interview with the Polish Press Agency, Speaker of the Senate Tomasz Grodzki said that if the election is won by a candidate of the opposition, then there is a possibility of accelerated elections.
“We can always count on the destructive actions of the Speaker of the Senate. He first planned the elections for after August 6th, which would leave Poland without a head of state. Now he is announcing more destruction, meaning if Rafał Trzaskowski wins in the first round, then we will see accelerated elections. It seems Speaker Grodzki does not fully know the Constitution, because this is not such a simple procedure”, said columnist Marek Król.
In today’s Ibris survey for Polityka weekly, Andrzej Duda is in the lead with the support of 41% of respondents, followed by Rafał Trzaskowski with 26%, Szymon Hołownia with 12%, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz with 7%, Krzysztof Bosak with 6.5%, and Robert Biedroń with 2.3%.
“I think these proportions are realistic. The candidate of the Civic Platform Party before May 10th was under-represented in the polls, also due to the weak campaign of Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska and her call to boycott the elections. In the more recent surveys, it seems that Andrzej Duda has a great chance to win in the second round. Voting at polling stations will take place between 7 AM and 9 PM. It will also be possible for those voting by absentee ballot to deliver return envelopes through the Polish Post, as well as municipal offices to relevant PECs. A possible second round will take place on July 12th”, stated the editor-in-chief of “Do Rzeczy” weekly, Paweł Lisicki.