Poland Exit Polls: Donald Tusk Claims Victory Based on Coalition Hopes

GUARDIAN EUROPE: Civic Coalition expected to have got fewer votes than ruling Law and Justice party but is likely to ally with other parties

Donald Tusk and supporters of the largest opposition grouping, Civic Coalition, react to exit polls. Photograph: Kacper Pempel/Reuters
Donald Tusk, the former Polish prime minister and European Council president, claimed victory in Poland’s parliamentary election on Sunday, making the announcement just minutes after the polls closed, based on the results of an exit poll.

The poll suggested the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party had won the most votes but appeared to show a route to government for a combined opposition coalition led by Tusk.

PiS, which has governed Poland for eight years, has turned public television into a propaganda arm of the government, restricted abortion rights and demonised LGBTQ+ people, migrants and refugees. It has also put Poland on a collision course with Brussels over rule of law issues, which has led to tens of billions of euros in European funding being frozen.

Tusk appeared on stage at the Civic Coalition election headquarters at Warsaw’s Ethnographical Museum to declare victory.

“It’s the end of the evil times, it’s the end of the PiS rule, we made it,” said Tusk, to cheers from assembled supporters. » | Shaun Walker in Warsaw | Sunday, October 15, 2023

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