Duda is expected to veto the plans on Thursday.
He said he had concerns over the proposed new rules "limiting so drastically" the plurality of Poland's political scene.
He said that parties would need to secure at least 11 - 16.5 percent of the vote, according to various estimates, to get a seat in the European parliament.
Duda added that the threshold should be five percent.
"It is difficult to agree with Poland's political scene being limited so drastically … it would mean that a huge part of Polish society would be unable to have an effective vote because we know which parties do not have such support – the majority of them," Duda added.
Duda previously said he was “strongly inclined to block” legislation sponsored by Poland’s ruling conservatives aiming to change the way in which the country chooses its MEPs in elections scheduled for May 26 next year.
Critics of the new regulations have argued that the changes would in practice raise the election threshold and prevent smaller parties from securing seats in the European Parliament.
Meanwhile, an MEP for Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, Ryszard Czarnecki, told Polish Radio on Thursday that he was hoping the president would “accept the decision of the parliamentary majority” and sign the bill into law.
Czarnecki, a former vice-president of the European Parliament, argued that the electoral amendment passed by Poland’s parliament was beneficial to voters.
Critics of the planned new regulations have argued that the changes would in practice raise the election threshold and prevent smaller parties from securing seats in the European Parliament.
Meanwhile, an MEP for Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, Ryszard Czarnecki, said that he was hoping the president would “accept the decision of the parliamentary majority” and sign the bill into law.
Czarnecki, a former vice-president of the European Parliament, argued that the electoral amendment passed by Poland’s parliament was beneficial to voters.
Under the proposed new rules, Polish voters would elect at least three MEPs in each electoral district, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
Previous regulations did not specify how many MEPs would be elected in each district, IAR said.
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the 28-nation European Union, of which Poland has been a member since 2004.
(vb/pk)
Source: PAP