The amendment, proposed by Poland’s ruling conservatives, was voted through on Thursday, with 230 MPs in favour, 220 against, and no abstentions, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Free transport to polling stations
Under the new rules, municipalities without sufficient public transport must provide voters with free transport to polling stations on election day.
Voters with disabilities and those aged 60 and older will be entitled to a free door-to-door transport service, bringing them from their homes to polling stations, according to officials.
These new rules are designed to increase voter turnout, the country's ruling conservatives said.
Number of polling stations to be increased by 6,000
Another key new provision is an increase in the number of polling places, the PAP news agency reported.
So far, Poland has had a polling station per every voting district of between 500 and 4,000 people.
Under the new rules, 200 people will be enough to make up a voting district, with the upper limit unchanged.
The existing voting districts will undergo “a review and division” to reflect this modification, officials said.
As each voting district must have a polling station, the change means that “there will be an estimated 6,000 new polling stations,” reporters were told.
At Poland’s last general election in 2019, there were over 27,500 polling places, according to PAP.
“The change will improve access to polling stations,” the ruling conservatives said.
The new regulations also foresee the creation of a nationwide Central Electoral Register, the PAP news agency reported.
pm/gs
Source: PAP, bankier.pl