Health Emergency as a Challenge for Democratic Elections on the Example of “Ghost Elections” in Poland

Abstract: Health Emergency as a Challenge for Democratic Elections on the Example of COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic, which spread across the globe in 2020, affected many important areas of life, including elections. One of the biggest challenges related to the pandemic was the risk of insufficient legitimacy. State authorities had to balance such fundamental values as the need to provide appropriate legitimacy of democratic institutions and the credibility of electoral processes on one hand and the protection of health and lives of citizens on the other. Taking it into account they had to decide on the conducting, postponing, or delaying elections. Each of these solutions had both advantages and drawbacks. An extraordinary situation that has been brought about by the ongoing pandemic has also caused a danger that some of the political leaders might abuse the state of emergency and reduce public scrutiny for serving their particular political interests. The “ghost election” in Poland in May 2020 served here as an example.