After almost a week of inefficient local election vote counting, all members of Poland?s State Electoral Commission (PKW) have announced their resignation.
Six of the members said they were leaving their posts on Friday evening, two other, including the PKW head Stefan Jaworski, did so earlier. The commission had been under fire throughout the week following the election, which took place on November 16. Vote counting was originally interrupted by a computer system breakdown, but the PKW was unable to announce the results even after the problem was fixed.
Some politicians have called for the ballot to be repeated both due to these problems and to a high number of invalid votes. However, Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz has rejected such an option.
An almost week-long delay in the announcement of local election results has prompted President Bronisław Komorowski to meet lawyers specializing in constitution issues and talk to them about the voting law in Poland, Polish Radio.
The talks focused on possible changes in the election law and on the possibility of announcing new local election. The president earlier said that, despite problems, the latest ballot should not be repeated.
Some candidates are preparing for a second round which will take place on November 30. According to figures from the State Electoral Commission, among others Warsaw, Wrocław, Kraków and Białystok will have a second round of mayoral elections. City presidents have been elected among others in Gdynia, Lublin, Kielce and Rzeszów – and some even for a fourth or fifth term. However, it’s been a wait for the full official results.
