The fresh parliamentary elections in Poland brought a affirmative surprise: a evidence attendance of 74 percent. This is simply a immense advancement compared to erstwhile elections and evidence that citizens are (or at least are) willing to engage more in the democratic process. It is simply a good time to take a closer look at the electoral regulations in our country and modify at least any of them.
Social media bazaars
The first is voter silence. The current legal structure, prohibiting electoral agitation just before the start of the vote, should definitely be modified. On the 1 hand, we have a reasonably strict, formal approach to the institution of election silence, and on the another hand a practice in which many of this silence do not adhere and bear no consequences. The alleged social media bazaars, which heats many accounts and profiles to red on the day of the election, is the most clear example of ignoring existing regulations. The regulation on electoral silence is besides archaic and, in fact, dead, so 1 should consider repealing it or adapting it to contemporary realities, given that its enforcement (especially in the context of social media) is virtually impossible. I am in favour of a change that will remove current legal fiction. About half of the EU countries are not bound by electoral silence, the others regulate it in different ways. It seems reasonable, for example, to let the distribution of electoral material in the media, but not to exposure them close the electoral stations in order to preserve the seriousness of the vote.
Amendments to the vote
The regulation of election silence is only 1 of the challenges of organising elections, which should be reconsidered and orderly. It has besides long been said that the vote itself should be more accessible and friendly to citizens. Electronic systems, correspondence voting or the anticipation of a proxy voting can aid increase attendance, especially among the aged or with disabilities. With this in mind, the Centre for Research, Studies and Legislative Affairs, think tank operating at the National Council of Legal Advisors, started a task a fewer weeks ago concerning the anticipation to implement online voting in the Polish elections. E-voting can contribute not only to expanding attendance, but besides to better securing the correctness of voting (e.g. reducing the number of invalid votes). Of course, the challenges of ensuring safety and anonymity in this form of voice must besides be considered. However, it seems that Poland is ready for innovations that can make the electoral process more accessible and efficient in the future (although utilizing mCitizen's infrastructure). The first re-commands and ex-perci OBSiL conclusions will be presented shortly.
Surveys and debates
These 2 issues, including the publication of poll results, especially in the short run before the election, the organisation of pre-election debates on a truly debateable format or better enforcement of the work to remove agitative materials at the time of the end of the election campaign, should besides be added to the debate on the form of elections in Poland. Here too, much can be modified for the benefit of citizens and citizens. All these themes should be discussed in the key context of election turnout – to make this year's awesome commitment as many as three-quarters of those entitled to vote a standard, not a deviation from the gratuitous standard.
The author is the president of the National Council of Legal Advisors.
