Democracy Digest: Duda vs Duda in Polish Election

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Despite the difficulties of holding the vote during a pandemic, PiS has no interest in delaying the election since Duda is leading in the polls and the inevitable economic downturn caused by the crisis has yet to rear its ugly head.

Right up until early April, the government insisted it was entirely possible to organise a nationwide vote in May as planned — never mind the country's coronavirus lockdown.

Critics say that is why the Polish government has not declared a state of emergency. Such a move would make it constitutional to limit the rights and freedoms of citizens but would also require postponing elections.

Instead, Poland has implemented some of the toughest restrictions of movement on the continent (complete with a ban on walks in forests and parks and on gatherings of more than two people) while only declaring a "state of epidemiological emergency". 

However, faced with a storm of criticism, PiS shifted gears in early April. At the time of writing, Poland had 7,771 confirmed coronavirus cases. The country has not reached the peak of the epidemic, which some experts estimate will come between the end of April and sometime in May — potentially putting PiS in the position of calling tens of millions out to vote when the disease is at its worst.

On April 6, the PiS-dominated Sejm lower house passed a law that would allow the election to take place entirely by postal vote. The Senate now has 30 days to respond. If it rejects or modifies the legislation, the Sejm would likely approve it again in a session just a few days before the date scheduled for voting.

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