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Poles slap ban on young politicos


EUOBSERVER / WARSAW - Poles under the age of 30 may not be allowed to become representatives in the European Parliament, after a vote by the Polish Senate yesterday (14 January).

Part of legislation that will pave the way for the European elections in June, the rule is likely to cause consternation in some quarters.

Young people lack experience according to Senator Marian Zenkiewicz, a member of the ruling SLD party, who proposed the rule be included in the package.

The minimum age to stand for European public office varies throughout the EU, from 18 in Finland and Germany to 25 in Italy.

Senators also voted to reject a proposal from the lower house, the Sejm, to introduce postal voting and scrapped checks on candidates to determine whether they collaborated with the secret service during the communist regime - rules which apply to national elections.

The Senate is dominated members of the ruling party which has its roots in the communist party.

Under the new rules, political parties and other organisations not present in the parliament will now find it easier to set up committees for the European election as they need to collect 10,000 signatures - not 15,000 as proposed before - in at least half of the constituencies to register a national list.

Poland’s territory is set to be divided into 13 constituencies which will return 54 MEPs among whom will be ex-Prime Ministers, ministers and top MPs.

The election law will now pass for approval to the lower house, the Sejm.

<ul> ~ Poles..</ul>