Most Polish Presidential Candidates Fail To Collect Signatures Due To COVID-19 - Reports

The majority of the Polish presidential candidates have failed to collect the necessary amount of signatures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, media reported on Friday

WARSAW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th March, 2020) The majority of the Polish presidential candidates have failed to collect the necessary amount of signatures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, media reported on Friday.

The first round of the presidential election in Poland is slated for May 10. The government intends to hold the election despite protests by the opposition, which seeks to postpone the vote due to the outbreak. Early on Thursday, the term given to the presidential candidates to collect the required 100,000 signatures expired. The collection of signatures is a necessary condition for a person to be registered as a presidential candidate.

According to the RMF FM broadcaster, incumbent President Andrzej Duda, who has collected 2.2 million signatures, is among six hopefuls who have managed to collect the necessary amount. The list also includes Polish People's Party leader Wladyslaw Kosiniak Kamysz with over 180,000 signatures; Malgorzata Kidawa-Blonska from opposition Civic Coalition with 512,000 signatures; Robert Biedron from the left-wing coalition with 285,000 signatures; Krzysztof Bosak of the far-right eurosceptic coalition with 270,000 signatures and independent candidate Szymon Holownia with 150,000 signatures.

Kosiniak Kamysz is so far currently the only registered candidate for the Polish presidency.

According to the broadcaster, 13 other candidates have submitted documents for being registered, but the majority of them have failed to collect 100,000 signatures. They plan to appeal the central election commission's refusal to register them since the coronavirus pandemic has hampered the process.

The Polish authorities have confirmed over 1,200 COVID-19 cases and 16 fatalities so far.

Earlier in March, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki declared an epidemiological emergency in the country. The government shut the borders for foreigners and suspended air and railroad traffic with other states. The movement of people inside the country was also restricted.