Former Presidents and Prime Ministers of Poland: We Will Not Take Part in a Pseudo-Election
Ladies and Gentlemen,
During these breakthrough moments for Poland, a special responsibility rests on those persons who previously held key functions in the state. It consists in providing the Polish people with advice that is independent of personal ideological and party sympathies.
For this reason I am presenting the stance of all the former Presidents of the Republic of Poland: Lech Wałęsa, Aleksander Kwaśniewski and Bronisław Komorowski and former Prime Ministers: Marek Belka, Jan Krzysztof Bielecki, Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz, Ewa Kopacz, Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, and Leszek Miller who declare that they will not take part in the correspondence vote, i.e. pseudo-elections, and hope that the candidates and voters who share the concern for respecting the Constitution and the democratic future of Poland will do the same.
Yours Sincerely,
Leszek Balcerowicz
STATEMENT
30 April, 2020
The election of the President of the Republic of Poland should be held in pursuance of the provisions of the Constitution and in a manner that does not give rise to any doubts, as to its universality, equality, secrecy and honesty.
The Constitution provides for a state of emergency which postpones the date of the elections while maintaining the continuity of power. A pandemic across the country is an obvious state of emergency.
The election by correspondence, forced by the Law and Justice party, was passed against the Constitution and the rules of the Sejm. They will be neither universal nor equal. It does not guarantee that all voters will receive ballots. It creates opportunities to illegally vote on behalf of others. It does not guarantee the secrecy of the vote. It makes it impossible for citizens to effectively control the integrity of the election. It poses a threat to the life and health of citizens during this epidemic.
The procedure of correspondence voting in the form and time as proposed by the ruling party is a pseudo-election. We will not take part in them. We hope that candidates and voters who share our concern for the democratic future of Poland will do the same.
SIGNATORIES
Marek Belka
Jan Krzysztof Bielecki
Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz
Bronisław Komorowski
Ewa Kopacz
Aleksander Kwaśniewski
Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz
Leszek Miller
Lech Wałęsa
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