In Ukraine, Poles, unlike Romanians, will not be able to vote in the presidential elections
Illustrative photo: polsatnews.pl

Poles in Ukraine will not be able to vote in the Polish presidential election scheduled for May 18. Voters must return home, Polsat News reports .

The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has decided not to create an electoral district in Ukraine.

According to the spokesman for the country's Foreign Ministry, Pavlo Vronsky, in conditions of war it is impossible to hold elections in such a way that their results cannot be questioned.

He noted that Polish citizens living in Ukraine should return to the country on Sunday to vote.

"The exact number of Poles who have the right to vote and are in Ukraine is difficult to determine. According to estimates, it is approximately 1.4 thousand people," said Vronsky.

As the publication notes, a similar decision was made regarding the elections to the Sejm and Senate in October 2023 and the elections to the European Parliament in June 2024.

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After the full-scale invasion, most countries abandoned the creation of electoral districts in Ukraine. However, some electoral systems allow for postal or proxy voting.

This option was used, for example, by French citizens who were in Ukraine during the early elections to the National Assembly in 2024, and Americans who voted in Ukraine in last year's US presidential elections.

Romania deviated from these rules during the presidential election, the first round of which took place on May 4, and the second round is scheduled for May 18.

Romanian citizens can vote at three election commissions in Ukraine – at the embassy in Kyiv and in two cities in Transcarpathia: Chernivtsi and Solotvyna.

To limit the possibility of election fraud, it was decided that in the event of an alarm, the polling station should be closed until the alarm is lifted.

  • On May 6, Poland announced that it had encountered an unprecedented attempt by Russia to interfere in the presidential elections, which are scheduled to take place on May 18. This involves the spread of disinformation combined with hybrid attacks on the country's critical infrastructure.