Fines of up to one million złoty, imprisonment. What is the penalty for breaking the election silence?

The election silence before the 2025 presidential election will begin on the night of May 16-17 and will last until the end of voting on Sunday, May 18 (usually around 9 p.m.). If a second round is needed to elect the president, election silence will be called again one day before the vote.

Election silence. What can't be done?

During the election silence, there is a total ban on electioneering in public spaces, including the Internet. This means that you cannot:

• organize election meetings, speeches or gatherings,
• hand out leaflets and hang new banners,
• publish posts, comments and graphics encouraging people to vote for a specific candidate,
• publish polls or election forecasts – even on private profiles.

Election silence. What are the penalties for violating the ban on agitation?

For breaking the election silence, one can be punished with a fine of up to PLN 5,000, and for publishing election polls, even from PLN 500,000 to PLN 1 million. The regulations provide for even more severe penalties for extreme cases. In such cases, the person breaking the election silence can be put behind bars for up to two years.

It is of course known that not all agitation can be avoided. In the case of election posters and candidate banners, an exception was made. Those that were placed before the election silence began can remain in place. However, they cannot be moved, changed or new ones glued on.

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