Duda vetoes new election laws

President Andrzej Duda last week that he is vetoing a law proposed by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party that would benefit bigger parties in European Parliament elections next year. “The proposed law goes too far from the required rule of proportionality. Its introduction would result in a large number of citizens not having their representatives in the European Parliament and would result in a low turnout due to citizens’ discouragement,” he explained his decision. According to experts in the Polish Senate, the change would have made it necessary for parties to receive 16.5 percent of the vote to get a European lawmaker elected (the threshold set by European law is 5 percent). Duda said that he believes that the current election system is too complicated and needs reforms. “The simplification of the existing system is possible and if I get such a bill, I’ll gladly sign it into law,” the president said.