Representatives of the European Commission and OSCE have expressed concern at the Polish government’s plans to press ahead with presidential elections scheduled in May amid the coronavirus epidemic, warning that they may not meet international standards.

Meanwhile, Poland’s own electoral commission has also voiced its doubts over whether last-minute changes to introduce universal postal voting, as well restrictions on campaigning amid an epidemic, can allow for fair, democratic elections.

“The measures imposed by the Polish and Hungarian governments during the coronavirus crisis have increased concerns over the rule of law,” European Commission Vice President Věra Jourová told Politico Europe.

Hungary’s parliament last week granted sweeping powers to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to rule by decree. This week in Poland, the lower-house of parliament, the Sejm, pushed through controversial legislation that would allow May’s presidential elections to be held exclusively by post.

Critics – including the deputy prime minister, Jarosław Gowin, who resigned in protest – accuse the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party of risking the lives of the public in order to hold an election that their candidate, incumbent president Andrzej Duda, is likely to win.

The opposition also accused PiS of forcing the legislation through the Sejm in an irregular manner. The bill was submitted just hours after a similar one had been rejected, using the signatures of PiS MPs who were not even in Warsaw at the time. It was then voted on immediately without expert consultation and little debate.

The Constitutional Tribunal has also previously ruled that significant changes to the electoral code cannot be made less than six months before an election. The upper-house Senate can now delay the bill for up to 30 days, meaning it may not be passed until days before the currently scheduled 10 May election date.

“I followed this process very closely,” said Jourová in an interview with Polish daily Rzeczpospolita. “I am concerned about free and fair elections and the quality of voting, of the legality and constitutionality of such a vote.”

Many have also raised concern that, even if a vote could be safely held, the elections would not be fair given the restrictions on campaigning amid the epidemic. Opposition candidates – who have all called for the election to be postponed – have had to effectively stop campaigning, whereas Duda, as head of state, has played a prominent role in the government’s response to the crisis.

“Genuine elections require an authentic campaign in which voters can hear the programmes and opinions of all candidates in order to make a well-informed choice,” said Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, in a statement on the Polish elections.

“The current limitations on public gatherings due to the pandemic make campaigning close to impossible,” continued Gísladóttir. “I am concerned that if the presidential election goes ahead under the current circumstances, it may fall short of a number of international standards.”

Meanwhile, the National Electoral Commission (PKW) has raised concern about the organisation of the elections and the changes to the electoral code being rushed through parliament. In a statement released on Thursday, it warned that:

In a democratic state, elections are not only [about] voting, they are a complex mechanism in which voters, candidates and public bodies participate. This process…must be based on clear and unambiguous norms derived directly from the constitution. The regulations must guarantee that the rules of political competition will be clear and equal for all, and the result of the election will fulfil the will of the nation. To achieve this goal, voting rights must be stable…[and] the process of their modification may not raise any legal doubts.

A number of local authorities, which oversee the conduct of elections in their areas, have already declared that they are not willing to participate in organising elections in May. They say that doing so would put polling staff and the general public at risk.

Opinion polling has also consistently showed that a large majority of the public – around 70-75% – do not want elections to go ahead in May, with only 10-15% in favour.

A new SW Research poll for Rzeczpospolita published today found 62% opposed to the legislation introducing all-postal voting, with only 20% in favour. Another survey by IBP for Super Express published yesterday produced almost identical numbers, as well as finding that 78% want the elections postponed.

This week, a group of leading legal and electoral scholars issued a joint appeal to the Polish government, published by the Stefan Batory Foundation, a leading NGO.

They urged the authorities to take into account the recommendations of doctors and epidemiologists who are certain that the epidemic in Poland will not be have abated by May and that holding elections will hinder efforts to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.

“The election results will be questioned and the elected president will lack the legitimacy essential for his office,” wrote the signatories. “The new [postal] form of elections has been introduced for the sake of immediate political gain in an unacceptable manner contradicting all democratic standards.”

PiS has argued, however, that elections can be conducted safely, effectively and fairly by post. They point to the example of Bavaria in Germany, where local elections were held by post only at the end of March. South Korea has today been holding parliamentary elections.

The government also points out that the only constitutional manner in which to postpone the election is call a state of emergency, which they argue is not justified and would incur economic costs. The alternative, to change the constitution, does not have opposition support.

Under the new voting system proposed by PiS, each voter will receive a voting card by mail and then will have to place it in a special postal box on the day of the election.

Main image credit: Krystian Maj/KPRM/Flickr (under CC BY-ND 2.0)