As the Batory Foundation points out, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the entire election calendar so as not to miss an important date, such as the deadline for announcing candidates or completing the formalities entitling you to vote outside your place of registration.

Elections are not just about voting day. They involve campaigning by committees and candidates, preparations by the election administration, and actions taken earlier by voters. The calendar organizes these activities and indicates the legally specified dates and deadlines by which, among other things, candidate lists and voter registers should be prepared, polling stations set up, and voting procedures in various circumstances made public. The closer voting day approaches, the more obligations the successive weeks of preparations will contain.

Election calendar

FEBRUARY

  • February 25: the President of the Republic of Poland orders the election; the election campaign begins.

APRIL

  • April 8 is the deadline for notifying the National Electoral Commission:
    a) by a political party’s body, of the establishment of an election committee
    b) by an election representative, of the establishment of a coalition election committee
    c) by an election representative, of the establishment of a voters’ election committee
  • by April 11 the electoral commissioner may, at the request of the mayor or municipal council, change the seat of a precinct election commission
  • by April 16 district election commissions accept notifications of lists of candidates standing in the election
  • by April 22 separate voting precincts must be established in places such as hospitals, student dormitories, nursing homes, prisons and detention centers
  • by April 26 the mayor or city president is required to make public information about voting precincts, their seats and polling stations, including those adapted to the needs of people with disabilities, as well as the possibility of voting by mail and by proxy.

MAY

  • by May 6:
    a) for voting precincts abroad, consuls inform voters about voting precincts, their seats and polling stations, as well as the possibility of voting by mail and by proxy
    b) the electoral commissioner is obliged to inform voters about the election date, voting hours, voting method, the conditions for a vote to be valid, the possibility of postal voting by voters with disabilities, and voting by proxy. This information is delivered by mail in printed form
    c) electoral commissioners appoint precinct election commissions
    d) the municipality prepares the voter register (in two copies, separately for each voting precinct, according to the voters’ place of residence)
  • May 6–20 – during this period, every voter may check at the municipal office preparing the voter register whether they have been included in it
  • May 11–24 free broadcasting on public radio and television of election broadcasts by election committees
  • by May 13 a voter with a disability should notify the electoral commissioner of their intention to vote by mail in Poland, including by using overlays for ballot papers prepared in Braille
  • by May 17 a voter with a disability submits an application to the municipal mayor to prepare a document granting power of attorney to vote
  • by May 21 a voter may submit an application to be added to the voter register in a voting precinct of their choice (important information for people permanently or temporarily staying outside their registered place of residence)
  • by May 21 the person managing an institution in which a separate voting precinct is established submits to the municipal office a list of people entitled to vote in that institution
  • by May 23 a voter voting abroad has the right to submit an application to the consul to be added to the voter register
  • by May 24 a voter may obtain from the municipal office a certificate confirming the right to vote at their place of stay on election day
  • May 24, midnight the election campaign ends and the election silence period begins
  • May 26 elections to the European Parliament in Poland.

Batory Foundation:

For Poland, these will be the fourth elections to the European Parliament. This time, a great deal depends on them: not only pragmatic issues such as the budget and the pace of economic development, but also the choice of values and the direction of development of the European Union.

“That is why the engagement of voters who have so far not fully exercised their rights is so important. In 2014, turnout was just under 24%. Only Slovakia and the Czech Republic had lower results. Let us hope that the political dispute over what Europe should be will encourage as many people as possible to make their voices heard,” says Joanna Załuska, director of the “You Have a Voice, You Have a Choice” program of the Batory Foundation.

What do you think? Will you take part in the European Parliament elections? Do you already know whom you will vote for? We invite you to join the discussion.