In a highly-anticipated outcome, the Polish Senate voted yesterday to reject a plan for citizens to elect the country’s president by mail-in ballot. The Sejm, Poland’s lower house of parliament, passed a bill last month under which presidential elections would be held by postal vote in response to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.

Last night, the Senate, the opposition-controlled upper house of the legislature, voted 50-35 to defeat the bill. The measure now goes to a final vote in the Sejm, which is currently controlled by the conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS). Together with its coalition partners, PiS holds a slim majority (235 of 460 deputies) in the Sejm and is expected to try and overturn the Senate’s rejection so that the election can go forward.

PiS hinted on Monday, however, that the May 10 presidential elections may have to be delayed by a week or two, after criticism that the party is putting political gains ahead of public health, according to a report in Reuters.

The speaker of the Sejm reportedly plans to refer the request to the Constitutional Tribunal today, asking whether postponing the election date would be in accordance with the Polish constitution.

Source: Radio Gdańsk, Radio Poland

Microsoft to invest USD 1 billion in digital technology in Poland

US software giant Microsoft announced yesterday that it would be investing USD 1 billion to accelerate innovation and digital transformation in the “Polish Digital Valley.”

As part of the initiative, Microsoft will set up a data center in Poland, which will be the first of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe. Additionally, the US tech giant plans to train around 150,000 employees, IT specialists, teachers, and students as part of a program aiming to improve digital skills.

Speaking on behalf of Microsoft Poland, General Manager Mark Loughran praised the partnership with domestic provider Chmura Krajowa, claiming Poland now “has the opportunity to be the digital heart of Europe.”

The initiative partners Microsoft with Poland’s National Cloud operator, Chmura Krajowa, an enterprise set up in October 2018 by Poland’s PKO BP bank and the Polish Development Fund, a state-owned financial group.

Source: Radio Poland, news.microsoft.com

Infected woman arrested after breaking quarantine to go shopping

A 38-year-old woman from Toruń faces up to eight years in jail after she allegedly went shopping despite knowingly being infected with SARS-CoV-2

The woman, known only as “Karolina L,” reportedly went to a pharmacy and two grocery stores despite being under mandatory quarantine. She was subsequently arrested and will be detained for two months while prosecutors assess the case against her. According to District Prosecutor Marcin Licznerski, the woman’s actions “endangered people’s lives” and led to two other people being placed under mandatory quarantine.

As of 10:00 this morning, a total of 14,647 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Poland, with 723 deaths reported from the disease. In Pomerania, 460 people are infected, with 20 deaths reported, many of whom were residents of local nursing homes in the region.

Source: Radio Poland

Polish Migration Forum offers assistance to foreigners

The Polish Migration Forum (Polskie Forum Migracyne) will be hosting an informational webinar at 17:00 this evening on legal and economic issues for foreigners in Poland.

The 90-minute webinar is being conducted in English and will focus on legal and economic aspects of the recently enacted Anti-Crisis Shield, including issues such as legalization of stay and economic assistance for entrepreneurs. The webinar was previously offered in Polish and is set to be offered again in Russian in the future.

Anyone interested in attending should register on the website of the Migration Forum at http://www.forummigracyjne.org.

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Weather

Today will be partly cloudy and mild with little to no chance of rain and a strong breeze coming from the northwest. Temperatures will peak around a high of 13°C, or 55°F, dropping to a low of 6°C or 43°F overnight. Tomorrow is set to be cooler but sunny, with temperatures warming up as we move into the weekend.

RGEN