Poland To Hold Parliamentary, Presidential Polls

WARSAW, May 23 (Xinhuanet) - Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski signed a decree Monday to hold elections for the country's bi-cameral parliament on Sept. 25.

Poland's parliament is directly elected for a four-year term. The current parliament was formed in 2001.

Earlier this month, Polish lawmakers rejected three motions to dissolve the parliament, avoiding early parliamentary elections in June.

Earlier on Monday, Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz, speaker of the Sejim, or lower house of the parliament, signed a decree setting Oct. 9 as the date for the country's presidential election. Under Poland's constitution, the speaker of the lower house will be in charge of the presidential election.

Cimoszewicz said the date for the presidential polls was set after consultations with representatives of various social sectors.

He also said a probable runoff date for the presidential election would be Oct. 23.

In addition to the parliamentary and presidential elections, Poland will also hold a referendum on the European Union constitution this year.