EU says Poland must ensure free & fair presidential election amid political and virus crisis

The EU’s executive said on Wednesday that Poland must ensure “free and fair” elections, as the bloc’s largest ex-communist country is locked in a political crisis over a presidential vote due this Sunday.

European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen discussed with her EU executive in Brussels “the importance of free and fair presidential elections in Poland in the context of the coronavirus crisis,” according to a spokesman.

Amid political infighting within the ruling coalition led by the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party – which has proposed a postal-only ballot because of the coronavirus pandemic – it is not clear if, when, or how exactly the presidential vote in Poland will take place, Reuters reports.