Local elections in Poland: PiS party is forecast to be the strongest force – News

  • The national-conservative Pis party has become the strongest force in the municipal and regional elections in Poland, as initial forecasts have shown.
  • She therefore received 33.7 percent of the votes.
  • In second place with around 31.9 percent is the liberal-conservative citizens’ coalition KO led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

In Poland, around 29 million eligible voters elected members of 16 regional parliaments as well as thousands of local councilors and mayors. In Warsaw, Tusk’s KO was a great success: the incumbent mayor Rafal Trzaskowski was confirmed in office in the first round of voting with 59.9 percent of the vote. “Here is today’s hero,” Tusk said of Trzaskowski on election night.

Legend:

Rafal Trzaskowski (left) celebrates his election victory with Donald Tusk in Warsaw.

IMAGO/MARCIN BANASZKIEWICZ/FOTONEWS

The 52-year-old Trzaskowski was narrowly defeated by incumbent Andrzej Duda in the 2020 presidential election. He has ambitions to run again in next year’s presidential election.

Runoff elections in several major cities

In the port city of Gdansk, Mayor Alexandra Dulkiewicz from Tusk’s party also managed to get re-elected in the first round with 62.3 percent of the vote. In several large cities, including Krakow and Breslau (Wroclaw), a runoff election on April 21 still has to decide who will fill the mayor’s office.

The PiS, which ruled Poland from 2015 to 2023, scored points in the predominantly Catholic east and south of the country. The result is above all an incentive for his party to work, said party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski with a view to the European elections in June.

A man stands at a lectern in front of an audience. Several of his colleagues are standing in the background.

Legend:

The national-conservative Pis party of Jaroslaw Kaczynski (at the lectern) received around 33.7 percent of the vote.

Keystone/AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski

According to forecasts, in the election of the regional administrations, 13.5 percent of the votes went to the Christian-conservative Third Way. The left-wing alliance Lewica ended up with 6.8 percent. Both parties form the government coalition at the state level with Tusk’s Citizens’ Platform. The right-wing extremist Konfederacja received 7.5 percent of the vote.

The official final result of the elections is expected in the coming days.

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