“Maintaining the Presidential election under the current conditions of full lockdown is not the way to do [it]”, affirm Dutch MEP Pieter Omtzigt (European People’s Party) and Swedish socialist Azadeh Rojhan Gustafsson, co-rapporteurs to the Parliamentary Assembly for the functioning of democratic institutions in Poland.
According to a draft law that has been adopted by the Polish Sjem but has not yet been approved by the Senate, this election—scheduled for May—is expected to take place by postal vote. The co-rapporteurs point out that this procedure does not comply with European standards, which prohibit any changes to electoral laws just before elections. Moreover, they explain, “The current lockdown makes the conduct of a meaningful election campaign impossible. Election campaigns, and an equal playing field for all election contestants, are essential components of democratic elections”. Consequently, they recommend that “the elections [be] postponed to the second half of this year”, since “organising these elections under the current circumstances” could “undermine the legitimacy of the new President-elect, irrespective of their outcome”.
As a reminder, on 28 January of this year, PACE adopted a resolution on the functioning of democratic institutions in Poland in which it decided to open a full monitoring procedure with regard to this country. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)