Poland to hold presidential elections on June 28

Poland will hold its presidential elections on June 28, with a run-off round two weeks later, Elzbieta Witek, speaker of the Polish Sejm (lower house of parliament), announced on Wednesday.

Witek said during a press conference that she had received no objections from the National Electoral Commission (PKW) against the proposed election date, and hoped that the election campaign will be fair and that all election activities will be carried out efficiently.

The elections, which were originally scheduled for May 10, did not take place due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdown.

The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party was eager to let the voting go ahead by mail on the back of favorable polling numbers for incumbent President Andrzej Duda. A conflict with a minor coalition party, however, led to the delay.

Duda, a former MEP for the right-wing PiS, was polled to have over 50 percent support during the pandemic, while other candidates were unable to campaign on the ground due to the lockdown.