In an interview with private TV Polsat, Duda stressed that he suggested the earliest possible date to keep the electoral campaign nice and short. “An electoral campaign is never a calm period by its very nature, it's always a time of political clashes,” Duda noted. He said he believed that Poles want to see as few of such clashes as possible.
According to the Polish constitution it is the President who names the election date that must ensue in a limited period of time starting from the end of the four-year Parliament’s term. This year the period stretches between October 13 and November 10. The date must still be approved by the State Electoral Commission, a formality that is expected early next week.
Duda is an ally of the governing conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party that is widely expected to win again after its coming to power in late 2015. Most surveys show the party securing some 40 percent of the vote thanks to generous social programs and strong economic growth and despite frictions with the European Union over the judiciary, migration, environmental policy and rule of law.
In an electoral marathon Poles already voted in the local government election last October and the European elections in May. They have yet to cast a ballot in the general and presidential elections to be held in the autumn and in May, respectively. (mo)
Source: PAP