President sets election date for 9 October
2011-08-04
President Bronislaw Komorowski has called parliamentary elections for 9 October, thus opening the official campaign period.
This year's elections, in which Poles will elect the entire Sejm (460 members) and Senate (100), will be the first to take place according to an amended electoral code that took effect on 1 August. Thus, the Senate election will for the first time be carried out under the first-past-the-post system. Several other changes, such as the possibility of postal or proxy voting for the disabled, the elderly and expatriates, are meant to increase voter turnout.