The Polish opposition proclaims its victory after the exit polls are known

Kaczynski will defend his project "whether we are in power or in the opposition"

The Electoral Commission confirms a historical maximum of participation in the Third Republic with 72.9 percent

The leader of the Polish opposition, Donald Tusk, has proclaimed his victory after knowing the exit polls, which place the ruling Freedom and Justice Party (PiS) as the most voted party, although without a sufficient majority to remain in government.

"Poland has won! Democracy has won! We have thrown them out of power!", claimed Tusk, leader of the Civic Platform party to his followers, according to the Polish press.

"I know that our dreams were even more ambitious. I have been in politics for a long time. I am an athlete. I have never been so happy in my entire life," he added. "A year ago nobody believed it. Three months ago we weren't sure," he highlighted. Thus, Tusk highlighted that he "had never been so happy with a second place."

The poll published by tvn24 and prepared by Ipsos gives PiS 36.8 percent of votes and 200 of the 460 seats in the Polish Parliament, followed by the Civic Coalition (31.6 percent and 163 seats). Behind them are Tercera Vía (13 percent and 55 seats), Izquierda (8.6 percent and 30 seats) and the far-right Confederación Libertad e Independencia (6.2 percent and twelve seats).

Formally, PiS has claimed to be the most voted formation, 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 has acknowledged that they "probably" will not govern.

Kaczynski appeared before the party's supporters and thanked them for their support. "It is our fourth victory in a parliamentary election and the third in a row. It is a great success for our party and for our project for Poland," he declared.

"The question remains whether this success will be reflected in a new government of ours and we do not know yet, but we must have hope and know that whether we are in power or in the opposition, we will defend this project in any way we can. We will not allow it to be betray Poland nor for Poland to lose the most valuable thing about our nation, its independence," he proclaimed.

FEW OPTIONS FOR PES

Parliamentary arithmetic leaves PiS with few options, since its only chance is to add the 230 seats that would give it a majority by adding its 200 seats to those of the Confederation, which barely has 12.

On the other hand, the Civic Coalition of Tusk, Third Way and Left would add 248 seats and the three formations have demonstrated affinity in a campaign raised by the opposition against the ruling party.

The 'number two' of the Confederation, Slawomir Mentzen, has recognized that "there is no point in hiding that we have failed." "We had to turn it around, but we haven't managed to do it," he highlighted.

More clear-cut has been another leader of the far-right party, Grzegorz Braun, who has pointed out that the "COVID killers" and the "warriors" have won. However, he did not want to discourage his supporters: "The next electoral campaign begins today."

From the Left, Wlodzimierz Czarzasty has highlighted that "just 18 years ago the party did not even have parliamentary representation", but in these elections it has managed to have the opportunity to participate in the government.

The other visible face of the left-wing party, Robert Biedron, has declared that "PiS ends on October 15" and that "Poland returns to Europe" to the applause of his supporters. "From Monday we have to roll up our sleeves and get to work," he stressed.

PARTICIPATION RECORD

A key factor for the result of these elections has been the historic turnout, of 72.9 percent, according to provisional data from the National Electoral Commission (CNE), which has confirmed that it is the highest voting rate since the foundation of the Polish Third Republic, in 1989.

"I want to thank the voters because it is very likely that the result will be the highest in the history of the Polish Third Republic," said the president of the CNE, Sylwester Marciniak, according to Polish public television, Telewizja Polska.

In addition, Marciniak has confirmed that the polling stations will not be closed until the people who are still queuing at some voting centers can vote, as contemplated by the legislation, so the final figure could be even higher.

Marciniak has also reported 43 incidents during election day, most related to the destruction of electoral material.