Poland’s ruling party is pressing forward with conducting Europe’s only national election during the COVID-19 crisis.
The Law and Justice party muscled its measure to hold the May 10 presidential election only via mail-in ballots through the lower house of parliament late Monday. Poland’s human rights ombudsman said this type of sweeping last-minute change leaves the ballot susceptible to fraud.
The events in Warsaw follow last week’s passage of a law in Hungary that allows its government to rule by decree for as long as it wants — a development that intensified concern that European leaders are using the cover of COVID-19 to seize more power.