WARSAW – Polish lawmakers have changed the rules for the country's postponed presidential election to make it a vote in person at polling stations with an option of voting by mail. No date for the vote has been set yet.
The changes to the electoral law that were approved late Tuesday come after the May 10 election was postponed amid political infighting over its timing during the coronavirus pandemic.
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Officials could not ready an all-postal vote in time and the opposition said it was not fair that their candidates could not campaign during the coronavirus lockdown while President Andrzej Duda often appeared on state television.
The vote in favor of the new electoral legislation was 244-137 with 77 abstentions. It still needs to be approved by the Senate and the president.
The Parliament speaker still has to announce the new date for the election, that has to come before late July.
Duda, whose term expires on Aug. 6, is seeking reelection and leads opinion polls ahead of nine other candidates. He is required to be above party politics by law but often sides with the ruling Law and Justice party.