In Poland, the national-conservative ruling party secured about 45 percent of the vote in yesterday’s parliamentary elections, once again becoming by far the largest party. Due to the Polish Electoral Law and seat allocation, the PiS party has again obtained a majority in parliament.
Before the elections, the outcome already seemed decided. In the final polls on Sunday morning, the party was already the clear winner. In Poland, the 460 seats of the Sejm are allocated based on proportional distribution. This benefits the larger parties.
Jaroslaw Kaczynski, chairman of the Polish national-conservative ruling party PiS, has since claimed victory. If this result is confirmed, PiS could secure 239 seats in the 460-seat parliament and therefore govern alone.
The largest opposition party, the Centrist Civic Coalition KO, would, according to exit polls, receive 27.4 percent. In third place is the Left (SLD) with 11.9 percent, followed by the center-right Polish Coalition (PSL) with 9.6 percent.
Although these opposition parties together have a higher combined vote percentage than the right-conservative PiS party, cooperation or bloc formation among them is unlikely due to significant differences in political direction.
Voter turnout on Sunday was 61.1 percent, marking the highest turnout in Polish elections since 1989.
It is not surprising that Kaczynski’s party won the elections. PiS enjoys substantial support, especially in rural areas, largely thanks to several social programs and increased allowances. For example, every Polish family receives a monthly allowance of roughly 130 euros per child.
During the campaign, PiS also took a strong stance against the European Union, modernist ideas, and homosexual relationships, which Kaczynski described as a threat to traditional Polish family values.