Going Postal: Poland’s Mail Carriers Decry COVID-19 Election

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But employees of Polish Post, the state-run postal administration, say the plan puts them at risk.

"This craziness must be stopped," said a postman from Warsaw who declined to be identified. "I've learnt everything about this election from the media. In the company, no one talks with us. As a citizen, I'd prefer to boycott it or organise a general strike."

To steam ahead with the postal vote at short notice, the government appointed loyalist Tomasz Zdzikot, a former PiS deputy interior and defence minister, as acting president of the Polish Post management board in mid-April. 

Yet even with Zdzikot at the helm, it is not clear if post offices can make sure that ballots reach 30 million Poles eligible to vote.

According to the Rzeczpospolita daily, some 15,000 post carriers and couriers employed by Polish Post — about half its workforce — are on leave.

Asked about the claim, Polish Post spokeswoman Justyna Siwek told BIRN in an email that "employee absenteeism has fallen and is currently lower than last December during the pre-Christmas peak". But she declined to comment on actual figures.

A television screen shows Polish President Andrzej Duda during a press conference at an orchard in Dylew village, east-central Poland, 28 April 2020. Presidential elections in Poland are scheduled for 10 May and under criticism for being slated to be held while the country is under coronavirus lockdown. Incumbent President Andrzej Duda would receive 59 percent of votes if elections were held in Poland in April, according to results of the latest Kantar...