Agora Election Observation (AEO) is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation whose mandate is fostering a democratic, participatory, diverse, equal and transnational Europe committed to human rights. In particular, the organisation aims to train young people as international election observers and report on youth participation in elections in Europe. This is done by deploying young people on election observation missions. In accordance with the AEO methodology, observers completed an e-learning course on election observation and undertook research on the electoral process in Poland
This preliminary statement focuses mainly on the observation of Election Day. More detailed findings will be presented in a final report, drawing on the full analysis of the data collected throughout the Mission.
The AEO Mission to Poland deployed 30 international observers of 16 nationalities to observe the Parliamentary elections in Poland. Upon deployment, the mission met with a number of stakeholders and local interlocutors, including election administration authorities, political parties and civil society’s representatives. On Election Day, observers were deployed in Warsaw, Krakow, Lublin, Łódź, Poznan, Wroclaw, Katowice – and visited 117 polling stations to observe the opening, voting, closing and counting procedures.
Polish election law provides for citizen and international election observation; the National Election Commission issues accreditation to the international observers after consultations with the Minister of Foreign Affairs. However, the process was negatively impacted by the failure of national authorities to grant accreditations in a timely manner. Accreditations were distributed to different non-governmental observer groups late in the evening before Election Day, creating operational and logistical difficulties. In the case of Agora Election Observation, this last minute accreditation resulted in the impossibility to distribute the accreditation badges to the observers deployed across the country in sufficient time, preventing the mission to observe the opening procedures outside the capital city.
Positively, around 70 per cent of the youth population aged 18–29 years old voted in these elections, representing a significant increase compared to the 2019 elections where the youth turnout was estimated 46.4 per cent. Young people under the age of 30 were well represented in the election administration of the polling stations visited, constituting 31 per cent of the total number of commission members.
Overall, Election Day was well administered, procedures were generally respected, and the election administration showed a high level of professionalism and understanding of the conduct of the elections, especially during opening and voting procedures. Nonetheless, the respect of the secrecy of the vote represents a long-standing concern and requires serious attention from national authorities. In around 50 per cent of the cases, the mission observers negatively assessed the secrecy of the vote due to the layout of the polling stations and the widespread practice of group and family voting. Greater attention should be paid to the enforcement of no campaigning in the immediate vicinity of polling stations, which was violated in 7 per cent of the cases. Around 40 per cent of polling stations were not accessible to people with disabilities. Commissioners had a lower understanding of the counting procedures compared to the opening and voting, which were not consistently followed in the limited number of observed polling stations by the mission for the closing and counting. However, this did not hinder the integrity of the counting process. Generally, Election Day was conducted in a transparent manner and Agora observers were not restricted in their observation.
Positively, some civil society initiatives and pro-youth campaigns targeting young people and first-time voters were observed. In addition, procedures in place such as postal and absentee voting facilitate the participation of young people, which represents a demographic group with high mobility due to studying and working reasons. Similarly, on Election Day, the availability of free public transportation made it easier for young people to reach their designated polling stations.
The AEO team would like to thank election administration authorities, political party and civil society representatives of Poland, as well as other international observers, local coordinators and interpreters, who contributed to the completion of this mission.
