Poland’s President Andrzej Duda said on Friday (Aug 2) he prefers Oct 13 for the next parliamentary election which the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party is expected to win again thanks to generous social programmes and strong economic growth.

Under Polish law, the election has to be between Oct 13 and Nov 10, with the exact day chosen by the president.

“I proposed October 13 as the election date,” Duda said in an interview with Polsat News television, adding that would be confirmed next week after consultation with the election board.

A survey this week by IBRIS pollster showed that PiS would attract 41.7per cent of votes, versus 25per cent for the main opposition group Civic Coalition and 10.2per cent for the liberal and leftist movement.

Another win for the nationalist PiS, after its 2015 victory, could drive Poland deeper into conflict with the European Union.

There have been frictions over the judiciary, migration and environmental policy, with critics saying the former communist nation is moving away from European liberal values.

Major campaign issues in the nation of 38 million are LGBT rights, traditional values, social benefits and climate change, as reported by Reuters.