After polls showed it won a parliamentary majority in weekend elections, Poland's liberal opposition on Monday celebrated a victory that, if confirmed, would pave the way for major change after eight years of nationalist party rule.

 

Edited by| Tony Wild

 

Europe section -  CJ journalist

 

Warsaw - October,16,2023

 

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The surprising result of the poll after the exit from the polling stations comes after the ruling populist Law and Justice Party, led by veteran politician Yaroslav Kachinsky, spent a lot of state resources in a campaign that was largely considered unfair.

The opposition described Sunday's parliamentary elections as the" last chance " to save democracy in the Eastern European country, a member of the European Union.

The ballot saw a record turnout, surpassing even the first free elections after the fall of communism.

Many voters in the capital Warsaw, where support for the nationalists is traditionally low, greeted the result with caution. Natalia Sedlik, 20, said: "there is great hope that something will change."

She added that a victory for the opposition would be a step in the"best direction".

The Ipsos poll at the exit of voters from polling stations showed that Tusk's civic coalition could win 163 seats in the 460-seat parliament.

Two small parties, the Third Way and the left, are expected to win 55 and 30 seats respectively.

The results would give the three parties together a majority of 248 seats.

Forecasts based on preliminary results on Monday supported the results of the exit poll from polling stations.

For eight years, the law and Justice party has set Poland on a collision course with the European Union, adopting controversial judicial reforms, refusing to receive migrants and hardline anti-abortion policies.

The law and Justice Party increased its nationalist rhetoric in its campaign, even entering into a dispute with its war-torn neighbor Ukraine, despite the huge Polish solidarity to help Kiev in the face of the Russian invasion.

Tusk served as prime minister of Poland between 2007 and 2014 and as president of the European Council between 2014 and 2019.

He vowed to restore relations with Brussels if he returns to power and legalize abortion, a major point of contention in the Catholic state.

Many Polish voters lined up late on Sunday evening to cast their ballots in what all parties described as the most important election since the fall of communism.

The law and Justice Party presented a hard-line catholic vision for Polish women.

However, there are still many questions about who will take power the morning after the vote.

Other Poles who supported the opposition expressed more cautious positions

And much still depends on President Andrei Duda. Analysts point out that any ruling coalition formed by the opposition may face disagreements with the president, an ally of the law and Justice party.

At the same time, the law and Justice party seemed steadfast and considered that it was the one who won the elections, as it seemed that the party received the largest number of votes. Kaczynski said he still had "hope" that he would be able to form a government.

"This is not a dead end at the moment,"he said late on Sunday as an opinion poll was published showing an opposition victory.

The most likely partner of the PiS coalition was the Confederation party, a far-right party that called for an end to large-scale Polish aid to Ukraine and campaigned on a strongly anti-immigrant platform. But the Confederation party has publicly ruled out entering into this alliance, which some analysts have suggested will not happen due to the escalating tensions between the two parties.

The election campaign was marked by the ruling party launching personal attacks on Tusk, accusing him of working in the interests of Germany, Russia and the European Union.

The law and Justice party also stepped up its anti-immigrant rhetoric, with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki saying the country should be protected from illegal immigrants "who do not respect our culture".

Ukraine and its Western supporters are closely following the results of the Polish elections, noting that Poland was one of the most prominent supporters of Ukraine in the European Union and NATO, and received one million Ukrainian refugees, but there is growing discontent among many Poles.