Russian police officers stand guard Wednesday as emergency ministry workers load the wreckage of the Polish presidential plane on a transport just outside the Smolensk airport in western Russia. Polish President Lech Kaczynski and some of the country's most prominent leaders died Saturday in the crash.

WARSAW, Poland — Polish leaders have decided to wait until after Sunday's state funeral for President Lech Kaczynski to decide when to hold an early election to replace him. But officials said June 20 now appears all but certain to be the date.

Under Polish law, such a ballot is required to pick a successor to Kaczynski, who was killed Saturday in a plane crash in western Russia. He was traveling with many lawmakers and other Polish elite to a commemoration of the systematic executions of thousands of World War II Polish officers by Soviet secret police in and around Katyn forest.

Kaczynski and his wife, Maria Kaczynska, were among 96 people killed in the crash. Investigators are pointing to human error as the cause.

Before the tragedy, the nation was scheduled to vote this fall for a new president, who serves as Poland's commander in chief for a five-year term. The parliament and government, now led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, are chosen separately and do not face a new election.

With Kaczynski's death an early presidential ballot has to be announced within two weeks of that date and take place within another 60 days.

Bronislaw Komorowski, the parliament speaker and now acting president, said the date would be announced April 21 after funerals for the president and other victims of the crash.

Komorowski said party leaders in parliament held consultations today and decided to wait with an announcement, given that two presidential candidates were killed, Kaczynski and Jerzy Szmajdzinski, a long-serving lawmaker and respected former defense minister who was to have represented the Democratic Left Alliance.

The most likely date for balloting appears to be June 20 because of a timeline dictated by the constitution.

"If the date is not announced by Monday, then the elections will be held on June 20, according to the regulations," said Lech Czapla, who oversees parliament's administrative issues. A second round would be held two weeks later if no candidate musters at least 50 percent of the vote.