Poland to head to the polls tomorrow
In Poland, which has recently come to the fore with its aid to Ukraine, tensions with the Kyiv administration, and opposition to the European Union's (EU) migration policy, citizens will head to the polls tomorrow for general elections and a four-question referendum.
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Political parties in Poland will compete tomorrow for 460 seats in the Sejm, the lower house of the bicameral parliament, and 100 seats in the Senate, the upper house.
In the country, where the term of office for representatives in the Sejm and Senate is set at 4 years, political parties must exceed a 5 percent threshold, and political alliances must exceed an 8 percent threshold.
WHAT WAS THE PICTURE IN THE LAST ELECTION?
The turnout for the last parliamentary elections held on October 13, 2019, was recorded at 61.74 percent.
In those elections, the conservative-nationalist Law and Justice Party (PiS), led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, received the most votes with 43.59 percent, and the United Right alliance, consisting of PiS, the Solidarity Poland party (Solidarna Polska), and the Agreement party (Porozumienie), secured a majority by winning 235 seats in the Sejm.
The cabinet led by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki took office after receiving a vote of confidence on November 19, 2019. According to the latest poll shared in the Polish press, the ruling Law and Justice Party is receiving 35.81 percent of the vote, while the main opposition bloc, the Civic Coalition (KO), is in second place with 31.38 percent.
According to this poll, the government led by the Law and Justice Party will most likely not be able to be formed again.
Accordingly, the vote share of the Third Way, a coalition of the center-right Poland 2050 party and the Polish People's Party (PSL), which stands out with its agricultural policies, was calculated at 10.71 percent.
Following this coalition, the New Left placed with 10.48 percent and the far-right Confederation (Konfederacja) with 8.72 percent.
According to the poll, the turnout for the elections is expected to reach 68 percent.
On the other hand, 38 percent of those participating in the poll stated that they would participate in the four-question referendum covering the issues of the EU-proposed migrant relocation plan, the sale of state assets, the future of the fence on the Poland-Belarus border, and the retirement age. This referendum will be valid if at least 50 percent plus one vote is cast.
Polish President Andrzej Duda announced in a statement on August 8 that the country would head to parliamentary elections on October 15.