The move was recommended by World Archery's Board of Justice and Ethics and unanimously approved by the Executive Board after the PAF missed a deadline to address the failures.

For the suspension to be lifted, the PAF will have to publish and "prove adherence to" a roadmap of regional and national assemblies and "hold verifiable and transparent elections".

An international audit company will reportedly act as an independent observer on World Archery's behalf.

The issue with the PAF first arose in 2016 when Poland's Ministry of Sport and Tourism Witold Banka declared that elections to appoint delegates were not held correctly. 

His announcement was challenged in court, but upheld. 

As a consequence World Archery said they also considered the elections invalid and gave the PAF a deadline of October 10 to rectify the situation, which was not met.

During the suspension, Polish athletes will be allowed to compete primarily in events that do not require national team registration, such as the Indoor Archery World Series.

Entries to the World Archery or World Archery Europe events will only be accepted when submitted through the Polish Ministry of Sport, however.

The first tournament to which this applies is the European Indoor Archery Championships in Samsun, Turkey from February 26 to March 2, 2019.

"World Archery requires its member associations to adhere to strict principles of good governance, including transparency and fair elections, as part of the international federation's constitution," a statement from the world governing body said.

The full letter sent to the PAF explaining WA's decision can be read here.