Seventeen people have submitted applications to run in Poland’s upcoming presidential election — a record number of contenders since 1995, according to Polsat News.
Until now, the highest number of candidates was registered during the 1995 election, when 13 people ran in the first round. The first to be registered by the National Electoral Commission was Sławomir Mentzen, a candidate from the right-wing Confederation party, who gathered 250,000 supporting signatures.
Also registered is Rafał Trzaskowski, the Mayor of Warsaw and a representative of the Civic Coalition. His candidacy was backed by over one million signatures. Among the registered candidates is Karol Nawrocki, head of the Institute of National Remembrance, supported by the Law and Justice party. His campaign received support from more than 1.3 million people.
Speaker of the Sejm Szymon Hołownia submitted 400,000 signatures in support of his candidacy. The remaining 13 candidates currently lag significantly behind in terms of public support.
The first round of the presidential election is scheduled for May 18, with a potential second round to follow on June 1. By then, the National Electoral Commission must verify the authenticity and sufficiency of the submitted signatures. So far, 11 candidates have been officially confirmed.
