2020-03-30
FOR Communication 10/2020: The Law and Justice Party Urges Elections Instead of Concentrating on Helping Entrepreneurs and Employees
Summary:
- On the night of 27 to 28 March, the Law and Justice party deputies added an amendment to the law on aid for entrepreneurs and employees during the coronavirus epidemic, amending the Electoral Code. The amendment allows persons over 60 years of age and those in quarantine, isolation and home isolation to exercise voting by correspondence.
- Regardless of what forms of distance voting would be available, the elections themselves should not take place on 10 May 2020, because there is in fact a state of emergency in Poland during which the elections cannot be held. The Council of Ministers should formally introduce a state of natural disaster, i.e. one of the states of emergency.
- As part of the scandalous night-time amendment to the Electoral Code, the Law and Justice party politicians proposed voting by correspondence for some of the voters, although in 2017 they submitted a draft eliminating all of correspondence voting, arguing it with an increased risk of irregularities, forgery or even buying votes for money and alcohol.
- By introducing overnight amendments to the Electoral Code, the law was broken several times, including the Sejm Regulations and the Constitution.
- The Law and Justice party, instead of focusing on providing aid to entrepreneurs and employees in times of epidemics, pushes ahead with the presidential elections on 10 May 2020.
- The overnight amendment to the law aimed at introducing support mechanisms for people experiencing the effects of the epidemic may cause the entry into force of these regulations to be delayed by further days due to the fault of Law and Justice. The health of Polish women and men, the functioning of companies and the economy or the livelihoods of employees have been pushed into the background.
- The Senate should not allow the introduction of amendments to the Electoral Code enforced by the Law and Justice party and should focus on aid for entrepreneurs and employees. It can do so, e.g. by submitting a draft bill to the Senate, very similar to the "anti-crisis shield", but without changes in the Electoral Code and postulate its swift adoption by both chambers of parliament. Let those in power show what their priority is today.
Author:
Marek Tatała, FOR Vice President, economist
marek.tatala@for.org.pl
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