Senate speaker backs new referendum date suggestion

Polish Senate Speaker Stanisław Karczewski on Thursday praised the idea to hold a constitutional referendum simultaneously with European Parliament elections scheduled for May 2019. President Andrzej Duda wants the referendum organised this November. On Wednesday, Ryszard Terlecki, deputy Sejm (lower house) speaker and head of the ruling party Law and Justice's caucus, suggested the European elections date as an alternative to President Duda's November 10-11 proposal. On November 11, Poland will celebrate the centenary of regaining its independence. In a Thursday conversation with a commercial radio station, Karczewski reiterated the view that the referendum should actually be held but voiced reservations about the November date.