Polish premier: May vote a must

WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s prime minister said Wednesday that the presidential election must be held in May despite the coronavirus pandemic to meet the requirements of the constitution.

Mateusz Morawiecki said, however, that the May 10 election date may be pushed back by a week or two.

The ruling conservative Law and Justice party is pushing for the May vote by postal ballot only, driven by the fact that its candidate, President Andrzej Duda, is leading in opinion polls.

It argues that voting by mail is safe.

But it has also empowered the parliamentary speaker to alter the May 10 date. Duda’s term expires Aug. 6.

The opposition, instead, wants the vote postponed by a year or two. Opposition politicians argue that it is not safe to hold any vote during a pandemic. They also argue that opposition candidates are unable to properly campaign and meet with voters due to the restrictions imposed during the coronavirus pandemic.

All opposition candidates are trailing in opinion polls behind Duda, who frequently appears on state media.

With less than two weeks to the election, the bill formally regulating procedures for the vote still hasn’t been adopted in parliament, raising questions about whether the balloting can be held as planned.

The European Union and pro-democracy organizations have voiced concerns about whether Poland’s first-ever postal election held under anti-coronavirus restrictions will be fully democratic, free and transparent.