section_path: Electoral system
section_name: Electoral system
paragraph_text: Electoral system
  
  Presidential elections in Poland must be held on a day off work (Sunday or public holiday), between 75 and 100 days before the end of the term of the sitting president. However, they may be held earlier if the office becomes vacant due to the death, resignation, or removal of the incumbent. The Marshal of the Sejm is responsible for setting the date of presidential elections and in this case had three possible dates to choose from: 4 May, 11 May, or 18 May 2025.
  
  The President of Poland is elected for a five-year term using the two-round system; if no candidate receives a majority of the vote in the first round, a run-off is held between the top two candidates. Presidents serve a five-year term and can be re-elected once. The second term of Andrzej Duda expires on 6 August 2025, and the president-elect will take the oath of office on that day before the National Assembly (a joint session of the Sejm and the Senate). Exit polls found the results too close to call, official results are expected on Monday.
  
  In order to be registered to contest the election, a candidate must be a Polish citizen, be at least 35 years old on the day of the first round of the election, and have collected at least 100,000 voters' signatures by 4 April 2025 at 16:00 (CEST). In 2025, 13 candidates registered, the highest amount of candidates tied with 1995.
  
  All citizens are eligible to vote following their 18th birthday, except for those that have been disenfranchised, stripped of public rights, or are detained. Voters cast votes in their regional district electoral commissions (plural Polish: okręgowe komisje wyborcze), but can also vote abroad, outside of their assigned district electoral commission, or by correspondence if they have notified the electoral commission beforehand. Voting takes place for 14 hours, between 7:00 and 21:00 (CEST).
  
  The elections are managed by the National Electoral Commission (Polish: Państwowa Komisja Wyborcza), which, for this election, was composed of the chairman (Sylwester Marciniak), deputy chairman (Wojciech Sych) and seven members recommended by groups in the Sejm – two by Civic Coalition, two by Law and Justice, and one respectively by Poland 2050, the Polish People's Party, and The Left.
  
  The National Electoral Commission, in press conferences throughout election day, reports turnout for 12:00, 17:00 (CEST) and the final turnout. For the day preceding, and day of, the election, until polls close at 21:00, election silence is in place. In the second round of the presidential election, there were 87 incidents of electoral silence being broken.