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Poland’s ruling conservatives win parliamentary election, but lose majority: final results

17.10.2023 12:20
Poland’s ruling conservatives Law and Justice (PiS) have won the country’s parliamentary election, but will not be able to muster a majority in the new parliament, paving the way for the opposition to take power, according to final results of the ballot, announced by electoral officials on Tuesday.
Photo:
Photo:X/Polish Parliament

With all of the votes counted, Law and Justice, allied with two smaller groupings in the United Right coalition, had 35.38% of the vote, Poland’s National Electoral Commission (PKW) said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the largest opposition bloc, the liberal Civic Coalition, led by the Civic Platform (PO) party, had 30.70%, PKW added.

The centre-right opposition Third Way alliance finished third in Sunday's election, with 14.40%, according to the data released by the National Electoral Commission.

Fellow opposition party the New Left finished fourth with 8.61%, the data showed.

The far-right Confederation group, with 7.16%, also crossed the 5-percent voter support threshold that Polish parties need to clear to enter parliament, according to the final data.

These results mean that Law and Justice will have 194 seats in the new Sejm (the lower house of parliament), the PKW said. 

Meanwhile, the three opposition parties the Civic Coalition, the Third Way alliance and the Left party have won 157, 65 and 26 seats, respectively, adding up to 248 MPs in the 460-seat lower house, a majority that will enable them to form a government, according to electoral officials.

The Confederation group completes the make-up of the new Sejm with 18 seats, according to news outlets.

Voter turnout in the Sejm elections totalled 74.38%, the highest figure since the collapse of communism, officials said.

Earlier on Tuesday, the National Electoral Commission also confirmed that opposition parties had won 66 seats in the country’s 100-seat Senate (upper house of parliament), a clear majority over the ruling conservatives Law and Justice (PiS).  

Polish voters went to the ballot box on Sunday to choose 460 MPs and 100 senators for a four-year term.

(pm)

Source: PAP, National Electoral Commission PKW, wp.pl