“The right-wing populist Law and Justice party is on course to win the most seats in Poland's general election, an exit poll suggests, but is unlikely to secure a third term in office,” British broadcaster BBC reported on Monday morning.
According to US broadcaster CNN, Law and Justice “appeared to be on the brink of losing power, after an exit poll in a bitter and high-stakes national election predicted that the country’s opposition has the clearest path to forming its next government."
CNN noted that the exit poll projected Law and Justice “would win the most seats after Sunday’s vote,” but “it would fall some way short of a parliamentary majority.”
The opposition bloc, led by former Polish Prime Minister and European Council President Donald Tusk, "appeared on course to gain control if it struck deals with smaller parties,” CNN reported.
The Reuters news agency reported that "Poland's ruling nationalists appeared on Monday to have lost their parliamentary majority in the nation's most pivotal election in decades, potentially opening the way for opposition parties to seize power in what would be a huge political shift.”
America’s The New York Times newspaper wrote that centrist parties were “poised to oust Poland’s nationalist government,” adding that the October 15 election had been seen as “one of the most significant in decades” and cast as “a choice between the defense of Polish sovereignty and liberal values.”
Meanwhile, the Bloomberg news agency reported that Poland’s opposition was "on course for a majority after Sunday’s election,” describing the expected outcome as “an upset that would deny the ruling nationalists a third term and see the country re-engage with the European Union.”
The Euronews outlet noted that "Polish opposition leader Donald Tusk declared the beginning of a new era for his country.” It highlighted that three opposition parties led by Tusk’s Civic Coalition “appeared to have won enough votes in Sunday's parliamentary election to oust the ruling Law and Justice party.”
Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper wrote on Sunday evening, as quoted by the onet.pl website, that the poll results "must still be treated with caution, but if they are confirmed, perhaps Poland will really turn a corner."
La Repubblica noted that more than 70 percent of Poles had cast their votes in the election, in what was the highest turnout in the country since the collapse of communism, according to onet.pl.
Another Italian outlet, Sky TG24, said that if Tusk were to replace conservative leader Jarosław Kaczyński at the country’s helm, Poland “will turn towards Brussels,” onet.pl reported.
Poland elects new parliament
According to an updated exit poll released on Monday morning, the Law and Justice party had won 36.6 percent of the vote, the opposition Civic Coalition, led by Tusk, received 31 percent, the centrist Third Way coalition garnered 13.5 percent, and the New Left party secured 8.6 percent.
The far-right Confederation was also expected to be represented in the new parliament, with 6.4 percent of the vote.
The "late poll" was conducted by the Ipsos polling agency on election day, after 50 percent of the votes were counted.
The poll showed 248 seats going to the Civic Coalition, Third Way and New Left together, earning them a combined majority in parliament, the Associated Press news agency reported.
Meanwhile, Law and Justice appeared to have secured 198 seats, “a sharp fall from the current slim majority it has held for the past eight years,” meaning it would not muster a majority even with the far-right Confederation party, according to the AP.
In order for a government to pass laws, it needs at least 231 seats in the 460-lower house of parliament, the Sejm, the AP reported.
(pm/gs)
Source: BBC, CNN, Reuters, Bloomberg, Euronews, onet.pl, The New York Times, AP