Poland has announced June 28 as a new date for a presidential election that was postponed last month due to the coronavirus pandemic, setting the stage for a short campaign that could weaken the country’s nationalist government.
Planning for the election had plunged Poland into political turmoil after the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party abruptly called it off four days before the original May 10 date.
“I would like it very much if we could finally pick the head of state. It’s a matter of … Polish statehood,” Elzbieta Witek, speaker of the lower house of parliament, said in a televised speech announcing the new schedule on Wednesday.
For PiS, the election is vital to cementing its grip on power and making further progress on its conservative agenda.
