Poland will hold the first round of its presidential election on May 10, a vote that will decide whether the ruling nationalists can press ahead with policies criticised by Brussels and the opposition.
The Law and Justice (PiS) party has vowed to pursue judicial reforms that critics say have marginalised Poland in the EU, but a defeat for the incumbent, PiS ally Andrzej Duda, would threaten the government’s agenda as the president has the power to veto laws.
„This year we have very important elections,” Elżbieta Witek, the parliamentary speaker, told reporters. „The presidential elections will be held on May 10.”
Duda is ahead in the polls, with a survey by Kantar for „Fakty” TVN and TVN24 giving him 44 percent in the first round, and 54 percent in the most likely run-off. Opponents include Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska of the centre-right Civic Platform, and Robert Biedroń of the Left grouping.
If nobody gets more than 50% of votes, a second round is held two weeks later, and the candidate with the most votes wins.
On Tuesday, Duda stepped up the conflict with Brussels by signing a law that critics say aims to muzzle judges critical of the government’s reforms. Poland has also clashed with the EU over migration and climate change, among other issues.
PiS won a second term in October on the back of promises to raise living standards to match those of the West and hefty social handouts.
However, the party lost control of the upper house, the Senate. While the Senate can delay bills and its speaker, Tomasz Grodzki, has taken a prominent role in opposing PiS’s judicial policies, it cannot block bills entirely, a power reserved for the president.
source: tvn24.pl
