Electoral commission head, Sejm speaker to discuss electoral law reforms

National Electoral Commission head Wojciech Hermelinski and Sejm (lower house) Speaker Marek Kuchcinski will meet Thursday to discuss the commission's comments to proposed changes in electoral laws and the functioning of the commission. Anna Godzwon from the National Electoral Office, who informed PAP about the talks, said Hermelinski also planned to take the floor during the reforms' first reading on Thursday afternoon. On November 16, Hermelinski told a press conference that the planned changes in electoral laws threatened to destabilise election procedures. The State Electoral Commission's main objections to the reforms are their hastiness, the doubling of election costs, the lifting of an apoliticality clause for electoral commissioners, the extension of the vote counting period, and the lack of time for the creation of an electronic support system.