Presidential election starts in Poland

A presidential election started in Poland at 7am on Sunday and is planned to end at 9pm.

Fot. PAP/ Tytus Żmijewski
Fot. PAP/ Tytus Żmijewski

Poles will elect their next president for a five-year term. Polish presidents can serve a maximum of two terms.

A potential runoff is scheduled for June 1 if no candidate secures an outright majority in the first round.

Over 28.9 million Poles are eligible to vote.

There are 13 candidates running for president, including two women. The average candidate is nearly 51 years of age. The youngest one is 38 years old and the oldest is 76.

There are 32,143 polling stations, including 511 abroad and five on ships.

The State Electoral Commission (PKW) will hold four press conferences on Sunday, at 10am, 1:30pm; 6:30pm and finally at 10pm, after the vote is concluded.

A ban on electioneering, publication of opinion polls and promotion of individual candidates or lists, including online, came into force on Saturday and will last until the end of voting scheduled for 9pm on Sunday.

Breaking the electoral silence is punishable by a fine of up to PLN 1 million (EUR 238,000).

Shortly after 9pm, public television station TVP and private television stations are expected to publish the results of exit polls.  

The official election results will likely be announced on Tuesday, May 20, or on Monday night at the earliest. (PAP)

at/jd

Publicly available PAP services