Polish elections “will not be fully free”, says head of electoral commission as poll shows majority want delay

The head of Poland’s electoral commission has warned that the presidential election, which the government intends to hold on 10 May using a postal ballot, is unlikely to be free or fair.

Meanwhile, a report for the parliamentary research office, commissioned by an opposition presidential candidate, has said that the government’s collection of personal data in preparation for the planned elections was illegal. The opposition speaker of the Senate has suggested that the postal voting legislation should be thrown out altogether.

Amid the continuing uncertainty and criticism over the government’s plans, and with a new poll again showing that a majority of the public do not want elections in May, there are reports that the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party is considering a belated declaration of a state of emergency to delay the vote.

PKW warns elections might not be fair

The head of the National Electoral Commission (PKW), Sylwester Marciniak, has warned that it would be difficult to hold free elections next week, as the government intends. After participating in a session of the Senate committees analysing the bill proposing postal elections, Marciniak voiced major reservations about the process.

“From my point of view, there are so many reservations that I fear it will not be possible to conduct free elections to the full extent,” said Marciniak, quoted by Wprost.

“Today we expect straightforward and unambiguous laws permitting fair, transparent elections,” said Marciniak. “But without the cooperation of both the government and local authorities, as well as electoral commissions, it will not be possible to conduct fair elections.”

Many local authorities, which are involved in the organisation of elections, have refused to cooperate with arranging next week’s vote. They point out that, because the postal-voting legislation has not yet passed, the government’s preparations for the vote are unlawful.

Marciniak added that his favoured option would be to allow voters a choice of how to vote. “Poland is a free country, Poles are free citizens. If I had an influence on the question of laws, I would allow every citizen to choose whether to vote in person or by post. That would be the best formula.”

All political forces in Poland agree that allowing in-person voting in May would not be safe. The leader of the main opposition party, Civic Platform (PO), has proposed holding a “mixed ballot” of both traditional and postal voting one year from now.

But the government has argued that the coronavirus is still likely to be a threat next year, and therefore the only way to allow traditional voting is to delay the election until 2022. That, however, would require a change to the constitution (and therefore some opposition support, which has not been forthcoming).

Marciniak’s statement is the first time the PKW has given such a clear opinion on the planned postal election, Tok FM notes. In an earlier statement, however, the electoral commission did raise concern over the organisation of the elections and the changes to the electoral code being rushed through parliament.

The election process “must be based on clear and unambiguous norms derived directly from the constitution” guaranteeing that “the result of the election will fulfil the will of the nation”, the commission warned at the time.

Marciniak’s opinion “ought to close the subject of pushing the elections through in May,” says Tomasz Siemoniak, a PO MP. “The PKW is the supreme electoral body competent in matters of holding elections. PiS politicians are destabilising the state with their unlawful actions.”

Government’s requisition of data “flagrant violation of the law”

Separately, an expert legal report commissioned through the Bureau of Research of the Sejm (BAS), the lower house of parliament, has concluded that the government’s requisition of personal data necessary for the postal election took place was unlawful, reports broadcaster TVN.

Last week, local authorities across Poland received an email requesting that they provide the postal service with population and address data. Many of them announced that they would not comply, but the data were subsequently provided by the government’s ministry of digital affairs.

But in a report, constitutional expert and professor of law Michał Bernarczyk concluded that there was no legal basis for data from the electoral register to be made available to the postal service.

Responding to the question of whether it was lawful to invoke an article of a special coronavirus law providing for special instruments of support during the crisis, Bernarczyk’s report stated that the demand for access to data was based on a decision of the prime minister which was in “flagrant violation of the law”.

Speaking to TVN, Bernarczyk explained that the postal service is not an electoral administrative body. By ordering it to carry out the elections, the prime minister was thereby removing competences from the appropriate institutions.

The director of the Sejm Bureau of Research, Andrzej Grzegrzółka, disputed this account, according to TVP Info, the state broadcaster. Grzegrzółka said that the report was ordered by Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, the Civic Coalition’s presidential candidate and a deputy speaker of parliament. The Sejm Analysis Bureau was only an intermediary.

The Sejm speaker, Elżbieta Witek of PiS, said that the report was being circulated with “unlawful” use of the logos of the Sejm and BAS, giving the false impression it represented their opinion rather than that of a single legal scholar. She intends to notify prosecutors of a potential crime, reports wPolityce.

Grodzki rejects postal voting legislation

Meanwhile, Tomasz Grodzki, the speaker of the opposition-controlled Senate, has said that the dominant view among his fellow senators is that the bill paving the way for postal elections is “not fit to be amended” and should “simply to be thrown out and vetoed”.

Speaking on TVN24, Grodzki said that the Senate would take the full 30 days – until 6 May – to which it is entitled before voting on the bill and returning it to the Sejm, the lower house of parliament.

That would mean that, even though the more powerful PiS-controlled Sejm could overrule the Senate and pass the legislation, it would be doing so just days before the scheduled date of the election on 10 May. The Sejm speak would, however, be empowered to delay the election until as late as 23 May.

Grodzki said that “the determination of the government to at all costs, contrary to common sense and the opinions of epidemiologists, post office workers, and the OSCE, force through these May elections is puzzling at best”.

“All this is like some Orwellian Matrix that should not take place in a state under the rule of law,” added Grodzki, saying that the government’s actions will “evidently [be] subject to a later judgement of the State Tribunal”, a body responsible for adjudicating on senior state officials accused of crimes.

However, the ruling party has continued to insist that by pushing ahead with the organisation of elections as scheduled it is fulfilling its constitutional duty. The government is operating under “the assumption that [the law of postal voting] will be in force” by 10 May, said deputy prime minister Jacek Sasin.

This morning, however, the prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, acknowledged that the date of the vote could be moved to 17 or 23 May, in order to give additional time to prepare. “We will make a decision in good time,” he said.

Only a quarter of Poles want May elections

Just one in four (25.4%) Poles think that the presidential election should go ahead in May, according to a survey carried out by IBRiS for Rzeczpospolita. Almost 70% want it delayed, with an even split between those wanting it held later this year (31.4%) or next year (32.1%) and a small minority (5.5%) favouring a two-year delay.

The survey showed a clear divide by political preferences. Among supporters of the incumbent president, Andrzej Duda, 70% back elections in May, while the majority of those planning to vote for Kidawa-Błońska and the Left’s Robert Biedroń opted for a 2021 date (52% and 78% respectively).

The late survey continues a consistent pattern of previous polling, which has shown a large majority favouring the elections being delayed. With such strong public opposition, but also with uncertainty over whether the government can muster a majority in parliament to push through the postal-voting legislation next week, reports today suggest PiS may be considering a delay.

“There might be no option, as the resistance is increasingly great,” said an unnamed ruling party figure, quoted by Wirtualna Polska. One option would be to declare an official state of natural disaster and delay the elections till August, reports Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.

Main image credit: Piotr Skornicki/Agencja Gazeta

Ben Koschalka

Ben Koschalka is a translator and senior editor at Notes from Poland. Originally from Britain, he has lived in Kraków since 2005.