Polish presidential election in chaos with only 4 days to go

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland is scheduled to hold a presidential election in just four days but nobody can say whether it will happen or not.

Sunday’s election date was was set months ago but preparations have been thrown into disarray by the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown Poland is under to control the spread of the virus. Bitter fighting between the ruling conservative party and its opponents is preventing the sides from coming together to find an alternative.

Plans for the vote are in chaos. Proposed legislation regulating it is still in parliament, with no guarantee that it will pass. A government official in charge of the vote acknowledges that the election cannot be pulled off Sunday — but it has not been officially postponed, either.

The ruling party on Wednesday was setting the stage for a two-week postponement of the election with the top court's permission.

Up to now, the ruling Law and Justice party has been pushing to stick to schedule — holding a vote Sunday with runoff on May 24 if necessary — by making it a postal vote. Party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski insists the constitution requires the vote be held in May. But he also acknowledges the party fears its candidate, President Andrzej Duda, the front-runner in opinion polls, could be weakened later when the economic pain of the pandemic lockdown hits the now-robust Polish economy.

Opposition parties are against holding the vote now and want the government to declare a state of emergency to create a legal way to postpone the vote by three months. They note that, under the lockdown, their candidates have not been able to campaign in any normal fashion but Duda is constantly on state television amid the government's virus-fighting efforts.

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