07/04/2020 16:19
BBC: Poland plans May election despite pandemic
Poland’s lawmakers have voted to ensure its presidential election scheduled for May goes ahead, despite coronavirus.
On the second attempt, the governing nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party managed to push measures through the lower house for a poll conducted wholly by postal vote, BBC reports.
The opposition fears this will unfairly boost the re-election hopes of President Andrzej Duda.
By Monday, Poland had 107 deaths and 4,413 confirmed cases of the virus.
Under Mr Duda, Poland has enacted far-reaching and controversial changes to society, including the judiciary and the media. Opposition leaders fear PiS - which supports the incumbent president - is seeking to ensure his victory to continue this programme.
But PiS rejects all these criticisms. The party insists it is trying to uphold the democratic process.