The heat is on

The vacation season may be here, Sejm deputies may be sunning themselves on Mediterranean beaches, but things are beginning to heat up in political circles with the growing excitement over Poland's upcoming local elections.

After opposition parties succeeded in postponing work on the new election law in the parliamentary Local Government and Regional Policy Committee, they were accused of obstructing parliamentary business. Law and Justice's (PiS) member of the committee, Dawid Jackiewicz, claimed that the committee chairman, Waldemar Pawlak of the Peasant's Party (PSL), is responsible for the obstruction, which will mean that the "voters will learn at the last moment, what the shape of the election law will be." The committee demanded a public hearing of the proposed draft election law, which will postpone work until mid-September.

The ruling coalition's proposed law will allow parties to form election blocks. The system will allow parties below the five-percent threshold of votes to stay in the running thanks to being part of a block. The ballots would be distributed within the block based on the number of votes each party received.

According to recent press speculation, the opposition will counter the anticipated ruling coalition's block by forming one of its own. There's been talk of PSL and Civic Platform (PO) running together, and PSL would like to see the block enlarged with the addition of the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD). As the polls have been showing, this grouping could be a decisive force in the local elections. However, both SLD and PO rule out the possibility. "An alliance with PO would be hard to explain to our voters," SLD party whip Jerzy Szmajdziński said.