Poland adopts postal vote rule for quarantined, elderly

WARSAW: Poland on Saturday adopted rules allowing people over 60, in quarantine or self-isolation to vote via postal ballot, as controversy rages over government plans to hold a presidential election despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

The right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) government came under heavy pressure this week over its decision to maintain the May 10 election as an opinion poll showed that 72 percent of respondents wanted the ballot postponed.

Opposition parties argue that asking citizens to visit polling stations would violate mandatory social distancing measures, exposing millions to potentially deadly infection.

Dominated by the PiS, parliament adopted the changes to the electoral law in a pre-dawn vote on Saturday.