The floods striking southern Poland could delay next month's snap presidential election if a natural disaster were to be declared but the government has downplayed the concern.
"The constitution says that in the event of the proclamation of an extraordinary situation, including a natural disaster, a national election such as a presidential poll can't take place neither during that period or the ensuing 90 days," University of Warsaw expert Piotr Winczorek told AFP.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who visited the flood-hit region on Tuesday and Wednesday, dismissed suggestions that a state of natural disaster was on the cards.
Tusk said rescuers had told him "unequivocally that there was no need".
"A rescue worker doesn't do a better job simply because a state of disaster is declared by Warsaw," he said.
The flooding has killed at least six people and forced the evacuation of thousands of others over recent days.
The first round of the presidential election is scheduled for June 20, with a potential run-off on July 4.
The vote was called after incumbent president Lech Kaczynski perished in a crash in Russia on April 10.
His identical twin, conservative opposition leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, is bidding to succeed him but is trailing in the opinion polls behind Bronislaw Komorowski, the candidate of Tusk's liberal government.
Under the law, Komorowski became acting president after Kaczynski's death because he is speaker of parliament.
Article 232 of Poland's constitution allows the government to declare a state of natural disaster in the event of conditions like the flooding.
A formal state of natural disaster is a mechanism used in the law by countries to give the emergency services more powers to tackle a catastrophe, for example by ordering evacuations or requisitioning vehicles.
In Poland, such a government-declared state can last up to 30 days, and can be extended by parliament.
Whether it is nationwide or regional, however, it immediately freezes an election timetable.
Article 228 of the constitution stipulates that no election or referendum can be held during the state of natural disaster and for 90 days after it ends.
The only exception is local government elections, which can take place in unaffected districts.
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