Because of his basic role as the speaker of Seym, Bronislaw Komorowski has to announce a new presidential election within fourteen days. We can assume that he will not delay this decision until Saturday, 24th April; however, he will certainly wait till the end of the national mourning and Lech Kaczynski’s funeral. The election will take place within 60 days from the day of its announcement, i.e. in June.
The latest date theoretically possible is 20th June, but then the second turn (which is rather unavoidable) would be scheduled for 4th July, which is already the holiday period. We can therefore assume that the election will take place on 13th June with a possible second turn on 27th June. 6th June, with the second turn on 20th June can also be considered – although, 6th June is the Sunday ending the Corpus Christi long weekend, which is moreover the day for which the beatification of Jerzy Popieluszko is planned.
Along with the presidential election, in three districts there will be a
by-election to the Senate. Filling in the seats in the Seym does not require
voting; new MPs are nominated based on the district lists.
Acting in the
name of the president, Bronislaw Komorowski can absolutely not procrastinate
some of the decisions – for instance with signing or vetoing bills which are
sent to him by… the speaker of Seym Bronislaw Komorowski. He should certainly
take decisions as to the army, which is lacking chiefs; the Chief of the General
Staff and chiefs of all types of military forces need to be appointed. In this
field, the actual decision makers are the Secretary of State for Defense, and
the prime minister.
What is a more complicated issue is choosing a candidate for the governor of the National Bank of Poland after Slawomir Skrzypek’s death. It is a long-term decision with such a strategic significance that it should rather be taken by a sworn president. In accordance with the NBP law, from Saturday the Central Bank is ruled by the first assistant of the governor, Piotr Wiesiolek, and there are no time limits on such a transition period.
Some of the members of the Monetary Policy Council have already announced
their interpretation of the law – in their opinion acting in the name of the
governor if the NBP does not include performing the role of the speaker at the
Monetary Policy Council sessions. Therefore, they are planning on electing a
person to lead the sessions from among themselves. This is a clear signal that
the duality of the jurisdiction in the Central Bank is becoming stronger, which
can push Bronislaw Komorowski to put forward a candidate for the governor of the
NBP fairly quickly, without waiting for the presidential election.