2020-05-07 10:57 update: 2020-05-08, 10:19
Photo PAP/Wojciech Olkuśnik
The Sejm (the lower house of Polish parliament) on Thursday morning rejected the Senate's veto to the ruling party's postal vote bill. Now the legislation will go to the president for signature before becoming law.
Two hundred and thirty-six MPs voted to reject the Senate resolution to turn down the postal vote bill, 213 were against and 11 abstained.
The ruling United Right camp needed 231 votes to reject the Senate's stance as all 460 Sejm deputies took part in the vote.
The bill was passed by the Sejm on April 6 at the initiative of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party in reaction to the spreading coronavirus epidemic. However, PiS's junior ally, Agreement, opposed holding the election in May, expressing concerns over health issues and election standards.
After weeks of impasse, the PiS and Agreement leaders announced in a joint Wednesday statement that the May 10 election will not take place. They expressed expectation that it will be consequently annulled by the Supreme Court, which will allow the lower house speaker to set a new election date. The leaders agreed the election will be an all-postal ballot and that the postal vote bill will be subsequently amended to accommodate Agreement's requirements. (PAP)
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