The election in Poland

Polish elections have begun: "Most important since 1989"  

 

The polling stations in Poland have opened. Voting in the parliamentary election began at 07:00 and will continue until 21:00.  

 

Major contentious issues in the election include the relationship with the EU, support for Ukraine and the current government's restructuring of the judiciary.  

 

The country is currently led by the nationalist party Law and Justice, which received close to 44 percent of the vote in the 2019 election. According to surveys, the party looks to be the largest this year as well, but may find it difficult to form a coalition, which in that case opens the door for the opposition, according to AFP.  

 

The opposition consists of the centrist party Medborgarplattform, which is led by former EU chief Donald Tusk. 

 

- This is the most important day in our democratic history since 1989, Tusk said at his last campaign meeting on Saturday.  

 

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Poland against a change of government - the opposition looks to gain a majority and declares victory  

Preliminary figures give the Polish opposition a majority in parliament. Law and Justice looks set to become the largest party with just under 37 percent of the vote, but risks losing the government position, several media write.  

Donald Tusk, former prime minister who leads a coalition of opposition parties, says "democracy has won" while the ruling party and its leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski want to wait for a final election result.  

The opposition has gone to the elections as individual parties but with promises to try to bring about a change of power. 

- It looks like Poland is moving towards a change of government, says SVT's European correspondent Christoffer Wendick.  

AP states that the polling station survey has a margin of error which means that it is too early to confirm a result. 

The polling stations closed at 21:00 Swedish time, but people who queued still have the opportunity to vote.   

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Analysis: Law and justice won, but still lost 

- It is clear that Law and Justice had good ideas, but for previous election campaigns.  

This is what Polish political science professor Rafal Chwedoruk tells Gazeta Wyborcza shortly after a polling station poll indicated that the ruling party may lose power to the opposition. 

- It is difficult to win elections in the long term by scaring voters and spreading conspiracy theories.  

Artur Bartkiewicz is on the same track in an analysis in Rzeczpospolita, where he states that Law and Justice won, but still lost. 

"Their vision that 'everything will be as usual and there will be no Donald Tusk' is not particularly exciting for more than the party's core voters," he write