Poland's Minister of Science and Higher Education and Deputy Prime-Minister Jaroslaw Gowin speaks to journalists at the Parliament in Warsaw
By Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk

WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland’s ruling nationalists edged closer on Monday to a green light for holding a May presidential election as a postal ballot due to the coronavirus pandemic after overcoming initial resistance in parliament.

The Law and Justice Party (PiS) has said the election should go ahead despite the rising death toll from the highly contagious COVID-19 respiratory disease and has proposed replacing polling stations with mail-in ballots.

Critics accuse the governing party of sacrificing public health on the altar of securing the re-election of incumbent Andrzej Duda, its ally, who is now ahead in the opinion polls.

Parliament had initially voted to bar the PiS plan from its legislative agenda after several deputies from a broad conservative alliance that backs the nationalists in the legislature broke away.

But the PiS enforced party discipline and secured a slim majority late on Monday to put the postal election motion on the agenda, benefiting from the absence of some opposition lawmakers.

It remained unclear when parliament would debate the proposal or whether the PiS could command a sufficient majority across the conservative alliance to pass the motion into law.

The dispute hinted at an emerging crack in the PiS-led conservative alliance that has governed Poland since 2015.

Earlier on Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Gowin, who heads Accord, a junior party in the alliance, stepped down over the election issue. “I am resigning…since I think the election cannot be held on May 10,” he told a news conference, adding that his party would remain in the ruling bloc.

Gowin has said the presidential election should be delayed for two years and has called on opposition parties to support a change in the constitution to allow this to happen.

However, Duda said in a Facebook Q&A session that the election should be organised “as fast as possible but safely”.

Poland has reported a total of 4,413 cases of coronavirus and 107 deaths, and expects the number of infections to peak next month or in June. The election is scheduled for May 10 and could spill into a run-off vote on May 24.

Health Minister Lukasz Szumowski has said he might have a clear recommendation about the risks of a vote in mid-April.

Winning the presidential election would enable PiS to make further progress in realizing its conservative social agenda and cementing reforms of the judiciary which the European Union has said are anti-democratic and subvert the rule of law.

PiS rejects any accusations about its motivations in the election row, saying it wants to preserve democratic procedures.

It won a fresh four-year parliamentary mandate last year, helped by a generous welfare spending programme and strong economic growth. However, a looming recession prompted by the coronavirus crisis could damage public support for PiS.

(Reporting by Warsaw bureau; Editing by Justyna Pawlak and Mark Heinrich)

Read More

Categories

  • 16

    At-Home

  • 29

    Business

  • 176

    COVID-19 / Coronavirus

  • 370

    Economy

  • 5

    Education

  • 43

    Entertainment

  • 33

    Environment

  • 9

    Family

  • 0

    FAQ

  • 80

    Frontline Heroes

  • 25

    Government

  • 49

    Handwash Challenge

  • 45

    Healthcare

  • 5

    In Memory Of

  • 4

    Law Enforcement

  • 4

    Medical Equipment

  • 4

    Mental Health

  • 2

    Military

  • 108

    Pandemic

  • 0

    Personal Care

  • 94

    Politics

  • 10

    PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)

  • 33

    Quarantine / Lockdown

  • 13

    Quarantine Art

  • 69

    Quarantivities

  • 1

    Receipes

  • 0

    Relationships

  • 52

    Religion

  • 43

    Safety Tips

  • 10

    Science

  • 129

    Shelter-In-Place

  • 17

    Silver Linings

  • 190

    Social Distancing

  • 6

    Social Justice

  • 1209

    Sports

  • 100

    Technology

  • 887

    Toilet Paper Times

  • 32

    TPT Lexicon

  • 2

    Wildlife

  • 154

    Worldwide

  • TP Times
  • Recent
  • Popular
Mexican rave: the 10 best tequila cocktails – chosen by experts
Quarantivities

Mexican rave: the 10 best tequila cocktails – chosen by experts

  • By  The Toilet Paper Times
A 10-year-old girl has sent more than 1,500 art kits to kids in foster care and homeless shelters during the coronavirus pandemic
Quarantivities

A 10-year-old girl has sent more than 1,500 art kits to kids in foster care and homeless shelters during the coronavirus pandemic

  • By  usa
Mississippi’s Twisted Sisters: TikTok videos during coronavirus go viral
Quarantivities

Mississippi’s Twisted Sisters: TikTok videos during coronavirus go viral

  • By  The Toilet Paper Times
What the Hell Happened This Week? | The Daily Social Distancing Show
Entertainment Quarantivities Social Distancing

What the Hell Happened This Week? | The Daily Social Distancing Show

  • By  video
Coronavirus Update (Live): 96,409,214 Cases and 2,059,503 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic
Toilet Paper Times

Coronavirus Update (Live): 96,409,214 Cases and 2,059,503 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic

  • By  usa
Meghan Markle Speaks with Young Victim
Social Justice

Meghan Markle Speaks with Young Victim

  • By  thetoiletpapertimes@gmail.com
Princess Diana Would Have Been Fighting Institutional Racism
Social Justice

Princess Diana Would Have Been Fighting Institutional Racism

  • By  Gary Schwartz
North Carolina Still Can't Race
Social Distancing Sports

North Carolina Still Can’t Race | Waiting for Judge to Rule

  • By  Gary Schwartz
OCT. 26: DISCUSSING NEPAL WHILE EATING TOILET PAPER
Toilet Paper Times

OCT. 26: DISCUSSING NEPAL WHILE EATING TOILET PAPER

  • By  Toy Le Trolle
How to hang toilet paper
Toilet Paper Times

How to hang toilet paper

  • By  Toy Le Trolle
Cheap Chic Weddings 2009 Toilet Paper Wedding Dress Contest
Toilet Paper Times

Cheap Chic Weddings 2009 Toilet Paper Wedding Dress Contest

  • By  Toy Le Trolle
Cheap Chic Weddings 2009 Toilet Paper Wedding Dress Contest
Toilet Paper Times

Cheap Chic Weddings 2009 Toilet Paper Wedding Dress Contest

  • By  Toy Le Trolle

Tags

activities air pollution Amazon Australia bidet Bundesliga canada China climate change deaths death toll disinfectant English Premier League Europe France funny Germany hydroxychloroquine India Italy Japan kids lockdown Lysol masks New York NYC oil industry ppe prayer quarantine shortages soccer songs Spain stats texas Toilet Paper Trump uk unemployment United Kingdom United States W.H.O. White House briefing