Signature: At the turn of May and June, thousands of locations killed the heart of Polish democracy.Source: Wikimedia Commons. licence – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Aike 4.0 International.
Written by Artur Andrzej
This year's presidential election electrified Polish society. What is peculiarly conspicuous is that young people one more time took matters into their own hands. I had the pleasance of working on the election committee, which gave me a unique position on the background of our democracy. My work has allowed me to observe both touching moments of civic commitment and electoral challenges.
Working in the election committee is simply a real lesson in humility and respect for another man. I met people who decided to vote. Each 1 came with its own story. There were people who were almost 100 years old and proudly, frequently with the aid of their loved ones, did their civic duty. Their determination and the joy of participating in the elections were truly inspiring. I have besides seen people with disabilities and diseases who, despite difficulties, grin on their faces and give their voices in a model way. It is simply a evidence to the strength of the spirit and a deep sense of work for the destiny of the country. There were besides inquisitive questions addressed to us. 1 of the more common repetitions was regarding the cut-off corner of the election card. I explained that a cut-off horn is essential for the perfect fit of the card to the Braille cover, which allows blind people to vote independently. another voters carefully checked whether there was a stamp on the ballot. Many brought their pens, for fear of possible falsification of choices by the usage of anointed pens. These fears, although unfounded, attest to the expanding spread of misinformation in society.
Husbands of “trust”
The committee featured a husband of trust from the Committee of President-elect Karol Nawrocki. He was a very kind man who carefully controlled our work. The presence of a husband of trust is not compulsory, but election committees frequently benefit from this possibility. But the atmosphere was not as peaceful as mine. We heard of more tense situations. On the committee in the same building, there were 2 men of trust – from Law and Justice and the civilian Coalition. The husband of trust from the PiS refused to shake hands with his equivalent from the Coalition, incapable to realize how specified a organization could be represented. Unfortunately, this illustrates the deep divisions in Polish society that penetrate even the structures liable for ensuring the fairness of elections. There were besides people who openly questioned the work of the election commission. It was loud about a case in which a voter took pictures at 1 of the polling venues of her members with their name tag, shouting in the background that she would send their images to the paper and publicize the issue of "bad" election management. specified incidents, although rare, are evidence of the request for civic education and common respect, regardless of differences in political views.
In the second circular of elections, a man of trust from my committee demanded access to voting rights certificates. This was argued by a rumor circulating online about the anticipation of falsifying specified documents. The problem is that each specified certificate contains a unique recognition number which would violate the GDPR rules. The deficiency of clear guidelines in the electoral code has led to any information chaos. Although the president of the PCW stated at a press conference that specified certificates could be shown, he later failed to confirm this information in the form of a regulation. This created a situation in which both the members of the committee and the men of trust had the right to question the procedures, which surely did not favour the smooth conduct of the elections.
Is there area for error?
Signature: The credibility of the electoral process depends on the members of the committee, the husbands of trust and the voters themselves.Source: Wikimedia Commons. licence – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Aike 4.0 International.
Written by Artur Andrzej
There was besides controversy about the manifestation of their political preferences by committee members. In Warsaw, members of 1 of them had red corals. Although this is simply a tiny gesture, I think they should stay absolutely neutral and not propose their preferences to voters. Any individual working in this function should be impartial and not advise anyone to vote for (such questions from voters have besides happened). A major problem was besides the public marking of votes on the table, where ballots were issued, which was always met with our disapproval. Of course, erstwhile there were no voters in the room, we could freely talk about our preferences, about our family, about our interests. There have been people who did not know how to correctly mark the vote on the ballot. In specified situations, we tried to clarify the method aspects of the vote, but did not propose any choice. The men of trust, though they should be neutral, sometimes suggested their views between words. Finally, it is worth discussing taking pictures at the polling venue. This is acceptable, but always after obtaining the consent of those acting as president or vice-president of the committee, besides at the ballot box. However, it is absolutely prohibited to photograph the votes themselves or to take pictures erstwhile the committee performs its tasks, for example erstwhile searching for a individual in the list of voters.
Elections are not a simple undertaking. Trust in institutions that influence our democracy requires the engagement of thousands. Their hard work, makes Poles one more time able to decide about their future.
Veronica STRAIN
