Madrid, October 15 (European Press) –
Polish opposition leader Donald Tusk declared victory after learning of exit polls. Opinion polls show the ruling Freedom and Justice (PiS) party is the top vote-getter but does not have a sufficient majority to remain in government.
According to Polish media reports, Tusk, leader of the Civic Platform party, declared to his followers: “Poland has won! Democracy has won! We have driven them out of power!”
“I know our dreams are more ambitious. I’ve been in politics for a long time. I’m an athlete. I’ve never been happier in my life,” he added. “No one believed this a year ago. Three months ago we weren’t sure,” he stressed.
A poll published by tvn24 and prepared by Ipsos showed that PiS received 36.8% of the vote and 200 seats in the 460-seat Polish parliament, followed by Civic Alliance (31.6%, 163 seats). It is followed by Tercera Vía (13%, 55 seats), Izquierda (8.6%, 30 seats) and Confederación Libertad y Independencia (6.2%, 12 seats).
Formally, Law and Justice claimed to be the organization with the most votes, with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki celebrating on Twitter that “Law and Justice is the winner of the 2023 parliamentary elections.” However, party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski admitted they “probably” would not govern.
Kaczynski appeared before party supporters to thank them for their support. “This is our fourth victory in the parliamentary elections and the third in a row. It is a great success for our party and our Polish project,” he declared.
“The question remains whether this success will be reflected in our new government, we don’t know yet, but we have to have hope and know that whether we are in power or in opposition, we will defend this project in any way we can. We It will not be allowed to betray Poland and Poland will not be allowed to lose the most precious thing in our country, which is its independence,” he declared.