2023-10-17 09:02:02
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Three opposition parties that promised to restore democratic standards in Poland won a combined 54% of the vote in weekend parliamentary elections, allowing them to take power, according to the full count released on Tuesday.
The conservative Law and Justice, which has governed the country for eight turbulent years, achieved just over 35% of the votes, making it the party with the most votes. But the party and its leader, Jarosław Kaczyński, lost their parliamentary majority and seemed to have no way of staying in power.
The final count announced by the National Electoral Commission was very similar to the exit poll published following the polls closed on Sunday.
Turnout was almost 75%, a record that surpassed the 63% in the 1989 elections, which triggered the collapse of the oppressive Soviet-backed communist system.
The Law and Justice government had taken a restrictive drift, taking control of the courts in a way that violated the country’s constitution. The party politicized state institutions, including taxpayer-funded public media, which it used as a propaganda tool to praise its work and demonize its rivals.
The result was a huge victory for Donald Tusk, leader of the largest opposition group, the Civic Coalition. Tusk seemed set to repeat as Prime Minister of Poland, a position he held between 2007 and 2014. He was also president of the European Council, an important position in the European Union, between 2014 and 2019.
Tusk’s success was especially striking given the state media’s extensive efforts to portray him as a puppet of Germany and Russia. Those accusations, which seemed unfounded, also earned him a lot of sympathy.
The election result was a huge relief for Poles concerned regarding the country’s international isolation as the war continues across the Ukrainian border and ongoing disputes with the European Union. Many feared it might lead to an expulsion from the 27-nation bloc.
The LGBTQ+ community also suffered a smear campaign in recent years by the conservative Law and Justice, which described it as a threat to the nation. The progressives were accused of being disloyal to the country.
The National Electoral Commission indicated that Law and Justice had obtained just over 35% of the votes, while the far-right Confederación formation, a possible ally, obtained around 7%.
Three opposition groups achieved a total of 53.7%, giving them a comfortable majority in the 460-seat lower house of parliament, or Sejm. The Civic Coalition received 30.7% of the votes, while the centrist Third Way received 14.4% and New Left received around 8.6%.
The three ran separately, so they were not officially the same coalition, but they all promised to cooperate to restore the rule of law.
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