Page 136 - Conducting Elections during COVID-19

118 INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCES OF CONDUCTING ELECTIONS DURING COVID-19

Poland

Presidential Election 2020 in Poland:
COVID-19 posed a larger challenge for Elections in

Poland.

Presidential election originally scheduled for 10 May, 2020

The Constitution of Poland mandates that election has to be held no sooner than 100 days and no later
than 75 days before the expiry of the term of office of the serving President of the Republic. Accordingly,
the Marshal (Speaker) of the Sejm (the Lower House of the Parliament), on 5th February, 2020, called for
the presidential election on 10 May 2020 in consonance with law of the land. The order to that effect,
published in the Journal of Laws, set in motion the electoral process as per schedule. This included
preparations by the election administration. The NEC appointed District Election Commissions and
proceeded with other tasks including the registration of candidates. Elections in Poland are managed
by a three-tier administration: the NEC and its executive body, the National Election Office (NEO) at
the central level, District Election Commissions (DECs) at the regional level, and Precinct Election
Commissions (PECs) at each polling station.
COVID-19 and its Impact

The first cases of the COVID-19 virus were confirmed in Poland in early March 2020. By mid-March,
the threat of an epidemic was clear and the government began introducing restrictions and lockdown
measures, which continued to be extended throughout April. With the prohibition of non-essential
movement, use of public spaces, and all meetings and gatherings, by the end of March it was evident
that the election could not proceed as planned and calls for postponing the election were heard from
various quarters, especially from opposition political parties. However, the Constitution of Poland
provides only one clear avenue through which an election can be postponed: a state of emergency. In
the given circumstances, the only avenue available was to declare a state of natural disaster, but doing
so would have implicitly meant pushing the election date to autumn.

Disinfecting a ballot box in a polling station in Krakow, Poland