Bronislaw Komorowski

The re-scheduled first round of Poland’s presidential elections will take place on June 20, with a second round on July 4, a spokesman for acting president Bronislaw Komorowski has told Polskie Radio.

Originally scheduled for late September/early October the elections had to be brought forward after the death of President Lech Kaczynski in the Smolensk air crash disaster.

Candidates have until May 6 to collect the 100,000 signatures necessary to support a candidate who wishes to stand in the elections.

The June 20 election date was decided on by acting president Komorowski, who is also the official candidate for Civic Platform after beating foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski in primary elections among party members.

The president's twin brother Jaroslaw Kaczynski has not yet announced his decision whether he will stand in for the late president Lech Kaczynski. A choice of candidate by the Law and Justice party is expected at the weekend.

The left has also been forced to choose a new candidate after the death of Jerzy Szmajdziński in the plane crash of April 10 in western Russia. Andrzej Olechowski will be standing as an independent. Nałęcz Thomas, Ludwik Dorn and Marek Jurek all pulled out of the election following the crash. (pg)

Source: IAR