DESPITE mounting concerns about public safety, the Polish presidential election is still due to take place on May 10. Polish nationals who are resident in Scotland, like a few 100,000 more around the globe, have no guarantee that they will be able participate due to both a new voting system and lockdown restriction in many countries.

Poland’s foreign ministry has stated that due to the coronavirus pandemic it may be very difficult or even “impossible” for some Poles abroad to vote in the elections.

Many countries, including the UK, Germany and the US, have not permitted the organisation of in-person voting.

The ministry admits that the number of polling stations abroad is much lower than in Poland’s 2019 general election. In the UK, which has among the largest Polish diasporas in the world, the number is reduced from 54 last year to only 10 this year.

In Scotland a single polling station in Edinburgh replaces 12 previously open. According to Radio ZET, one of the biggest Polish commercial radio stations, many organisations are unwilling to allow their premises to be used for voting as a consequence of the virus and this has led to a reliance on the use of consulate buildings.

Finding staff to work as polling clerks has also proved difficult, as has sourcing materials, including ballot papers and seals, required for the vote. There are also fears that the lockdown imposed in many countries will prevent travelling to polling stations.

Michael Russell, Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, European Affairs and Foreign Policy, responding to a letter from Scottish Labour Party MSP Claire Baker, the co-chair of the cross-party parliamentary group on Poland, saying it would be impossible to organise voting places in Scotland.

Russell added that the organisation of polling stations would violate Scottish regulations regarding the coronavirus lockdown and cause “unnecessary risk”. In reply, Baker emphasised that she was “deeply concerned” by the plans for the election. The matter was also raised in the Scottish Parliament during First Minister’s Questions.

To complicate matters further, the ministry’s work so far has been based on Poland’s existing electoral law. However, at the beginning of April, less than five weeks before the scheduled vote, the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party submitted and adopted legislation to Parliament to introduce universal postal voting.

The bill is still pending a vote in the Senate, Poland’s upper house, where the opposition has a majority. The Senate has the right to delay the bill for up to 30 days ... meaning it might be introduced just days before the scheduled election.

In that case, the risk is that all Poles abroad could effectively be excluded from voting.

According to information on the Polish government website, registration for elections ends on May 7 at midnight, which anyway is against the law as there is a requirement to register at least 14 days before the election.

It is not known how ballots will be delivered by post in so short a time and returned to consulates. In the UK alone about 100,000 registered for the Polish general election in 2019. Election day may be delayed by the speaker of the lower house, but only to May 24 at the latest.

In a letter published by the Financial Times the Polish Ambassador to London, Arkady Rzegocki, defended the organisation of postal elections, saying they would the “safest solution” and “enable the whole of Polish society to participate in the election and ensure constitutional equality for all”.

However, international Polish organisations and Polish citizens living abroad oppose the plans to hold the election in May, as they may be effectively disenfranchised by the timing and coronavirus restrictions in their countries of residence.

The oldest Polish diaspora group in Great Britain, the Federation of Poles in Great Britain, as well as the World Polonia Council, called on the government to postpone the vote.

A petition calling on the Polish government to revoke the organisation of the presidential election in May was signed by 3000 Polish citizens living in 50 countries.

The short protest movie #freedomofchoice, prepared by Polish citizens living in different countries, will be launched in social media on May 2, Polish Diaspora Day, as a clear message to the Polish government about the Polish diaspora’s right to vote.

Given the unprecedented nature of such large-scale postal voting in Polish election, and the extremely short time frame, it appears very unlikely that the process will guarantee fairness and transparency, Human Rights Watch has warned.

The risk is the move violates electoral procedures and could invalidate the vote because amendments to the electoral code must be made at least six months before any elections.

Human Rights Watch called on parliament to “ensure that the election process is predictable, free, and fair, which may require postponing the voting for a short period’’.

The current government lockdown has several characteristics of a “state of emergency”, but without one officially being declared.

According to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, such a declaration would automatically lead to the postponement of elections until at least 90 days after it had been recalled.

It seems the Polish government wants to capitalise on the present situation and not take the risk with a later election when the public health and economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis could offer a much less favourable situation for their candidate. Controlling the presidency is key for the party to avoid political deadlock after narrowly winning a general election last autumn but losing control of the upper house of parliament.

According to the latest polls, the incumbent president Andrzej Duda, supported by the ruling party, would be likely to gain more than 50% of the vote and thus win a second term in office without requiring a second round of voting.

Given that the virus prevents candidates from campaigning present circumstances make a fair election virtually impossible.

According to official data, Poland had 12,877 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 644 related deaths at the end of April.

The country, however, also has one of Europe’s lowest testing rates.