In Poland’s most important electoral test since Law and Justice came to power in the parliamentary elections of late 2015, the party on Sunday gained 32.3 percent of the vote in elections to regional assemblies, according to the exit poll.
But the survey indicated that in the Polish capital, the candidate backed by the opposition Civic Platform party, Rafał Trzaskowski won a decisive, first-round victory in the race for mayor after securing over half the vote, public broadcaster Polish Radio reported.
Many pre-election surveys had suggested the battle for Warsaw would need to go to a second round. Trzaskowski won 54.1 percent while his conservative rival Patryk Jaki scored 30.9 percent, according to an exit survey by pollster Ipsos.
In the vote for regional assemblies, the Civic Coalition, an alliance between the Civic Platform (PO) and Nowoczesna (Modern) parties, came second with 24.7 percent, according to the exit poll.
The Polish People's Party (PSL), which is strong in rural areas, finished third with 16.6 percent, according to the survey. Other parties scored under 10 percent.
The official elections results were expected to be announced in the days ahead.
PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński told cheering supporters: “We have won … with a result that augurs well for the future, especially for parliamentary elections” next year.
He added: “We will have to – and this is my main message – work very hard over the next year.”
Upcoming election marathon
Sunday’s ballot came ahead of European and parliamentary elections scheduled in Poland for 2019. The country is to hold a presidential election in 2020.
As supporters chanted his name, conservative Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said: “The most important things are work, humility and service, in other words further hard work for victory in the European Parliament elections and the Polish parliament elections in a year. And this is within reach.”
Officials said turnout was probably over 50 percent, the highest in the history of Polish local elections.
Around 30 million Poles were entitled to cast their ballot in Sunday's local government vote, state news agency PAP reported.
The official results were expected to be announced on Tuesday or Wednesday at the earliest.
A second round of voting, where needed, will be held on November 4.
(pk/gs)
Source: TVP/PAP