The lower house of Poland's parliament, the Sejm, late on Thursday voted unanimously to set up a special parliamentary commission to investigate suspected irregularities, public broadcaster Polish Radio's IAR news agency reported.
The inquiry is expected to open later this month to examine steps taken by the government at the time to hold the 2020 presidential elections in the form of postal voting amid the COVID-19 pandemic, state news agency PAP reported.
Poland's presidential election was initially scheduled to take place on May 10, 2020, in the middle of the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
The conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government made preparations for a postal ballot, arguing that it could be held safely despite a rising number of COVID-19 cases and deaths.
Election monitors, opposition candidates and EU officials criticised the plan, saying the decision to change electoral law allowing for the mail vote was rushed and could prevent the ballot from being free and fair, the Reuters news agency reported.
The plan to hold the election on May 10 was eventually abandoned and the ballot was conducted via a mixed system of postal and traditional in-person voting in two rounds, in June and July, resulting in a second term for incumbent Andrzej Duda.
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Source: IAR, PAP, Reuters