Dr hab. Tomasz SŁOMKA Analysis of the Standpoint of the Polish Opposition Concerning Presidential Elections

128 (2) of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland which provides that elections shall be set on the date not earlier than 100 days before and not later than 75 before the end of the term of office of the incumbent President. [...] Until the end of February it seemed that the elections will be held in compliance with the regulations of the Constitution and the 2011 Electoral Code, as well as in the timeframe set by the so-called electoral calendar (published in the Official Gazette “Monitor Polski” together with the decision of the Sejm Marshal on calling the elections). [...] The postulate to introduce a state emergency (a state of natural disaster) was one of the fundamental arguments of the opposition (initially with some sort of circumspection by the KO) in the discussion on the optimum conditions for carrying out the elections so that they met constitutional standards. [...] Secondly, the state of epidemic threat and the state of epidemic fell on the period of collecting signatures of the constituents for the candidates – in accordance with the so- called electoral calendar one hundred supporting signatures should be submitted to the National Electoral Commission by 26 March (until midnight). [...] Summing up, the stance of the opposition in the dispute as to the election concerned both the issue of defending the constitutional order, defending such values as the life and health of citizens, as well as the choice of the optimum formula for running an electoral campaign during the pandemic.