Parties have until 16.15 CET today to register candidates for Poland’s brought-forward presidential elections.

Candidates who have already registered with the National Election Committee with the necessary initial 1,000 supporting signatures are: Andrzej Lepper (Self Defence), Marek Jurek (Polish Right), Waldemar Pawlak (PSL), and Kornel Morawiecki. Bronislaw Komorowski (Civic Platform) Janusz Korwin-Mikke (Freedom and Order), Boguslaw Ziętek (Polish Labour Party, Grzegorz Napieralski (SLD) and businessman Bogdan Szpryngiel are also expected register with the committee today.

The Law and Justice (PiS) party met at the weekend to discuss their candidature, which is widely expected to be Jaroslaw Kaczynski,. twin brother of Lech Kaczynski, who was killed in the Smolensk air disaster. PiS say they will not name their man till the last of the funerals of the plane crash on April 10 - which will be that of MP Aleksandra Natalii - Świat, whose funeral is at midday, Monday, in Warsaw.

Parties now have to collect 100,000 signatures to support the nominations before May 6. The first round of elections are scheduled on June 20. (pg)