Here is the exact text of Mayor Piotr Roman’s appeal.

Many residents are asking about the possibility of holding the elections. I inform you that I am an official who is obliged to comply with the law. Therefore, I am obliged to prepare for them. Please be aware that May 10 is the culmination of a certain operation that should begin any day now.

We calculated that 350 people were directly involved in the previous and the preceding elections. These include members of electoral commissions, electoral commissioners and people who train them. They also include people who prepare and seal the ballot papers. If the vote is conducted by post, these ballots will have to be delivered to homes. Therefore, today we are saying this: holding the elections poses a tremendous threat. We know this on the basis of what happened in two countries, namely France and Germany—specifically Bavaria. In each of these cases, a decision was made to hold elections, and we already know that the number of people infected with the coronavirus rose significantly.

We will, of course, contact the sanitary authorities so that they can determine the conditions that polling stations must meet. Please remember that among the more than 20 polling stations, we also have to designate three closed polling stations: one at the designated infectious-disease hospital, one at the Provincial Hospital and one at the Nursing Home. These are closed electoral districts; it has always been that way.

Both the case of France, where President Macron decided that there would be no second round of elections after seeing the effects, and Bavaria, where a significant increase compared with other federal states has been reported and is most likely attributable to holding the elections, require great caution when making a decision about voting. Although the possibility of postal voting will most likely be introduced, polling stations will have to remain open, because every citizen must have the right to vote at a polling station. This means that we would have to provide those 350 people with personal protective equipment, masks and gloves. The rooms should be disinfected. There is also, of course, the issue of disposable pens. There are countless elements. Training must be conducted beforehand. Associations and various other people will probably submit nominations—although we have not received any such notifications today—but a provision in the draft law concerning postal voting has attracted little attention. It states that the National Electoral Commission may determine a different method of establishing electoral commissions than the one described in the Electoral Code. We are also awaiting decisions on this matter.

I, of course, believe that this is a very difficult task. I do not even know whether organizing elections on a national scale is feasible. But if these elections take place, for the first time I will appeal to all of you to stay at home and not participate in these elections by going directly to polling stations. This is a peculiar paradox, because in recent years, before every election, we have asked and appealed in various ways for people to take part in the elections.

This time, in this situation of a direct threat to human life, we will appeal: stay at home.

Piotr Roman, Mayor of Bolesławiec